Team Zero: The Last Guard
by Rex the Emerald Dragon
Summary: Bringing together both of my worlds, I present to you the next story in my Team Zero series. This time… it’s an all out war!
1. Five Years Later

Reku Yamashita was on his way to school one fateful day. The day was the day for the city wide tournament, the day he was going to prove his skill. Little did he know that on that one day, his life was going to begin to change. It was the first day, of the rest of his life. But not just for him, for his friends as well. Ronin Endo, Akina Oshiro, and Sachiko Meade were also going to be involved in this ancient struggle.

They battled hard, making it to the top. Right then and there a unique fighting team was assembled. Team Zero was unlike anything else in the world. Why? Because their destinies were about to unfold, but before that, they had to win at the world tournament. This low ranked tournament was going to bolster their standings in the world.

Their next tasks were to awaken their true powers, which lied in the forms of crystals. These crystals became their most powerful cards in their deck. But they weren't the only people to gain the crystal cards, as they seemed to be forming into a powerful team of people who owned these said crystals.

Under the guidance of a woman named Kimberly, or Order as she was called by the group of kids, Reku and his friends saved the world from Kim's ex-husband, Chuck. He was known more to the kids though as a psychotic being going by the name of Chaos.

Once Chaos was dealt with, Team Zero had to move on to their next adventure, this time in the form of a great tournament. For placing so high in the world thanks to their place in the World Tournament, Seto Kaiba invited them to compete in the Tournament of Kings. There they met ancient magic the likes of which they never thought they would encounter; the sacred power of the Orichalcos. This power was wielded by the eldest child of Order and Chaos; Chime.

Though the battles were long and tiresome, putting all their talents to the test, Reku, Ronin, and Akina, with the help of some new friends, managed to overcome the power they were dealing with.

Though as that was ending for Reku and his friends, a new adventure was opening up for a boy named Kiro Rinku, and his friends Kaira Burue and Chao Ryota. Kiro held the spirits of three ancient beings in orbs that were kept in a leather glove on his hand. The only way to reincarnate these three spirits was going to be for Kiro to pass 10 trials that presented themselves to Kiro in the course of 10 nights. Once he passed all 10 of them, Kooru, Heruru, and Hebanu had their souls placed back into their respective bodies.

That all was five years ago. This is the present…

**TEAM ZERO: THE LAST GUARD**

Episode 1: Five Years Later

Reku pealed his eyes open as the warm light of the sun touched his skin through the pane of glass on his bedroom window. Smiling at its comforting touch, he rolled over and stretched out his arms. Turning his head he looked at, to him, the most beautiful sight in the whole world. The love of his life lay in the bed next to him, still fast asleep. Akina moved closer to him in her sleep, cuddling up to him in the early morning.

"_She's so cute while she's asleep."_ He smiled to himself, wrapping his arms around her petit body. His eyes closed again, taking in the moment.

After they became of age, the two of them moved out on their own, together. This was their new house they had just started moving into earlier in the week. This is where they hoped they could settle down together, out on their own, and maybe even start a family together in the future. True the two of them were not married as of yet, but the thought had been passed around recently as they had been together for five years.

The two of them jerked up when a bell rang through their silent house in the early morning. They looked at each other in confusion for a second before they realized that the bell had been their door bell. Someone was summoning them, at this hour of the morning?

Reku jerked out of bed, finding a pair of pants on the floor. With a grace that only a man in a rush could have, he pulled the pants on and found a shirt also on his floor and slipping that on over his head.

"Coming!" He yelled as he dashed out of the room. The door bell rang again as who ever was standing out there was growing impatient. Running a hand through his short, black hair making sure it was presentable just as he made it to the wooden door that was their front door. He opened it, putting a smile on his face.

Outside the door stood a man about the same height as he was, wearing a black jacket with a hood pulled up over his head. From under the hood, dark green hair was visible that hung down his face. Over his eyes was a pair of pitch-black sunglasses.

"Hello?" Reku asked, still in a state of shock at how the man looked in the morning. "Can I help you in anyway sir?"

"Answer me a question." The man spoke, extending his hand. What caught Reku off guard was that over the mans hand was a yellow work glove. "Is your name Reku Yamashita."

"Yes it is." Reku slowly reached out and took the mans hand, shaking it slowly. "Why do you wish to know? And who are you?"

"I'm your next door neighbor." The man spoke, motioning with a nod of his head towards his house. "The name is Kiro Rinku. I just happen to see you moving in here the other day, and I just had to stop by and greet you. I remember years ago when I saw you in the papers. You and your team mates."

"Oh, for like, the Tournament of Kings?" Reku asked, taking his hand back from the strange new man. "Yeah, well, it was nothing major. Its not like you live next to a famous star or anything."

"Oh, but it is just like that." Kiro said, bending down and picking up something Reku hadn't noticed before. It was some sort of white gadget that Kiro quickly slapped onto his wrist. Holding it up, it appeared to be some kind of duel disk. "You are a great duelist to accomplish that kind of thing. And I am here to see just how good you really are. If you would give me your time of day in a duel."

"And if I refuse?" Reku asked, still standing in the door way half asleep.

"Then I'll just consider you a coward and weak. Maybe even a cheater for those awards that you won with your 'skill'." Kiro's tone was mocking, degrading on many levels. He was doing everything he could to provoke Reku into a duel.

Yawning, Reku turned and took a few steps back in his own home. "Alright, if you wait outside for a few minutes while I get my stuff together, I'll duel you." And with that, he shut the door on Kiro. Walking back into his house he began to search for his duel disk. "I don't like him." Reku growled under his breath as he made his way back into his bedroom.

"Who was that?" Akina asked, coming out of a bathroom that was next to their room. She was dressed and running a brush through her long, sandy blond hair.

"Some ass. I think he said his name was Kiro or something like that." Reku pulled open one of the drawers on his dresser, flipping through a few articles of clothing until he came to a box. Opening it, he pulled out a stack of brown backed cards. "He wants to duel me, to 'test my power'". Reku moved his fingers to mimic the quotation in his words.

"Why did you accept?" She asked, opening a set of doors that led to their closet. Reaching into it, she seemed to be searching for something.

"I don't know. Mainly to shut his loud mouth up." He said, walking across the room to her. She turned around, presenting him with a emerald green duel disk, Kaiba corp. standard model with a few changes. This duel disk was a gift to him, Akina, and Ronin when they were first granted their crystal cards. "Thank you honey." He smiled, kissing her on the lips as he took the device from her hands.

Minutes later, the two of them were walking out the front door of their new house. Walking out onto their front law, they found Kiro standing there with his arm crossed across his body.

To their surprise, Kiro bowed slightly to Akina.

"The famous Akina Oshiro I presume." He said in the kindest voice he could find. "It is an honor to meet you, I am Kiro Rinku."

"Um…Hello Mr. Rinku." Akina sweat dropped at the kindness of the covered man standing on her front lawn. From what Reku sounded like just moments before when they were standing in their bedroom, she thought this guy was going to be a complete jack ass to her. Rather, she seemed to respect her on some level. Though from the look of him, she guessed that respect was something hard to earn from him.

"Kiro is just fine." He spoke back, still forcing his voice to be kind. Turning, he looked back at Reku. "So, are you ready to proceed?" He uncrossed his arms and held out his duel disk that was on his arm.

"No, I'm ready for a shower and breakfast." Reku sarcastically said as he separated himself from Akina and too his spot across the field from Kiro. Pulling out his deck, he began to shuffle it.

"Well, as a high ranked duelist, you should know that there is no rest that is granted to you. You will have to earn your rest." With that, Kiro began to shuffle his own deck of cards. With a few good shuffles, he slammed the deck into his duel disk. From the front of the white dome like wrist gadget, a duel field began to flicker into existence. It was formed from a pure reflection of lights. "It's a special model." Kiro said, noticed the awestruck look on both Reku's and Akina's faces.

"I see." Reku nodded slowly, placing his own deck into his green duel disk. The arms of the device folded out, making the dueling field. The lights and buzzers warmed up, preparing for the start of the duel.

Reku-4000 L  
Kiro-4000 LP

"Alright, its time to begin." Kiro announced, pulling the top five cards off his deck and glancing over their faces. Reku doing likewise. "I start this game, draw!" He yelled, snapping the top card off his deck and adding it to his hand. "Before I start, I do want to tell you that I want to see just how strong you are. I'm not going to be holding back on any account."

"Very well." Reku nodded, still kind of sleepy in the conversation. "Though I wouldn't disgrace you by holding back." He quickly threw in at the end of his statement, placing his hand over his mouth as another yawn escaped his lips.

"You don't seem very serious to me." Kiro said, noticing the yawn after the comment. "Oh well, you'll wake up when the fire works begin. I summon out my Gravekeeper's Assailant (1500/1500), in attack mode."

A black robed assassin appeared before Kiro, wielding a wavy, Egyptian style dagger in its hands. Covered in solid black, the monster looked kind of like its master. A pair of eyes stared out from the folds of its black mask.

"And cover one more card on my field face-down. Your turn Reku." Kiro announced as he slid one of the other cards in his hand into his duel disk of light. With a flash of yellow and white light, a brown backed card appeared on the field behind his assassin.

"_A Gravekeeper deck?"_ Reku's eyes widened at he appearance of the monster. He was now fully awake, realizing just what he might be up against. _"Not a very easy family of monsters to take down. This may be a bit tougher than I first thought."_ Slowly, he pulled the top card of his deck off and added it to his hand to make six cards. Pulling one of the cards out, he slapped it down on his duel disk. "I start by summoning Warrior of the White Flame in attack mode (2000/0)."

A battle torn warrior appeared on Reku's field, snapping a thin, double sided blade through the air. White flames licked off the blade it whipped through the air. He wore an old, silver breastplate the looked battle scratched up and chipped in a few spots. Red cloths draped out from under its breast plate and shoulder pad, which were also of the silver, battle torn armor.

"During each of my standby phases, my Warrior of the White Flame will lose 500 attack points, transferring those points to his defense points." Pointing a stiff finger at the black covered monster. "Though, this turn, he has more than enough points to take out your monster. Attack!"

Snapping its blade through the air, the warrior launched itself through the air, preparing to attack the monster that rested on Kiro's field. Winding his sword back across his body, the monster swung forward, cutting through the body of the waiting monster on Kiro's field with one swift motion. A loud explosion rang through the neighborhood as the monster blew up, showing Kiro in white embers.

Reku-4000 LP  
Kiro-3500 LP

"I suppose that ends my turn." Reku said, examining the cards in his hand. Lowering his hands, he noticed that Kiro was frowning. And, even though he couldn't see through the sunglasses that still rested on Kiro's face, he could just tell that the eyes underneath were glaring with malice at him.

"Well, I guess I was expecting you to be more challenging." Kiro said, drawing the top card off his deck. "First off, I activate my face-down card. Rite of Spirit revives my Gravekeeper's Assailant in attack mode (1500/1500)"

The brown backed card on Kiro's field flipped up, glowing for a few seconds before it spit out the assassin again onto Kiro's field. Snapping its dagger up, the monster was more than ready to seek revenge on the monster that stood on the opposite of the field from him.

Kiro pulled one of the other cards from his hand, placing it on the side of the pure white dueling plate. With a suction sound, the card was pulled into the plate, sending a rainbow of light through the disk as it read the cards info.

"Field magic card go; Necrovalley!" Kiro announced, snapping his arm up into the air. From all around the dueling field, large stone walls began to skyrocket into the sky. The walls blocked out the sun that was still resting on the horizon in the morning. White fog began to filter into the canyon were Reku and Kiro were dueling, creating a ghostly like feeling to the area. "Necrovalley increases the attack of my Gravekeeper's by 500 attack and defense points (Gravekeeper's Assailant 2000/2000), as well as cuts out all cards that would affect the graveyard."

"_So my graveyard is off limits."_ Reku's eyes shifted downwards to the slot on his duel disk that was his graveyard. _"Necrovalley is the home of the Gravekeeper's. This duel just got ten times harder with it in play."_ Reku bit his lower lip at the thought of the magic card that now surrounded him.

"And I summon out my Gravekeeper's Cannonholder (1400/1200) (1900/1700) in attack mode." Kiro announced, slapping the monster card down onto his duel disk.

In front of him, a Egyptian monster wielding a redwood cannon appeared, placing the weapon on his shoulder and taking careful aim at its target. The monster smirked slightly, pleased with the current field status that appeared around him. Nodding slightly, he waited for the orders to be given from his master before launching its attack.

"And my Gravekeeper's Assailant has an ability that activates when I have Necrovalley on my field." Kiro announced, pointing towards the warrior monster on Reku's field. "When it attacks a monster, I can change the position of a monster on your field. So go my Assailant, attack his Warrior of the White Flame, changing him to defense mode as you do."

Nodding with its orders, the assassin jumped high into the air above Kiro and its ally that still awaited its orders. Snapping the curvy dagger down, the monster took careful aim at the attack target, closing its eyes and concentrating all of its energy into its weapon. A light blue aura began to form around the metal blade, streaming off and crashing into the breastplate of the warrior monster, dropping it to its knees instantly. With a diving swipe, the Gravekeeper's Assailant slashed its sword through the monster, causing it to explode like it had done to the assailant just the turn before.

"And go my Cannonholder! Blast his life points directly!" Kiro yelled out, snapping his arm down towards Reku. The monster sneered, happy that its orders were finally given. Taking one last second to aim, the monster sent out a cannon ball of white and yellow energy. Rushing across the field in a blur, the attack crashed into Reku, causing him to scream out which echoed in the walls of the valley.

Reku- 2100 LP  
Kiro-3500 LP

Frustrated, Ronin threw the map he was holding into the back seat of his car. Placing his hands over his head, he sat there with his head buried for a few moments while he thought what to do.

Ronin's black car was parked on the side of the road in a calm neighbor hood. No one else was driving up or down the paved road that he could see, and all the houses still looked peaceful in the early morning light. A gentle breeze blew, rustling the trees that surrounded the street in a plentiful number.

Looking around, Ronin tried to decide on his next move. He had to find somewhere, or someone, to ask for some directions. He hated to admit it, but he had found himself to be completely lost. Shifting his head around, he found a smile creeping across his face as a sandy blond haired woman came strolling down the street next to him. She looked innocent enough, but Ronin didn't want to seem like the threatening one. Waiting until she was almost by the car, he rolled down the driver side window and stuck his head out.

"Um, excuse me ma'am." Ronin called out, startling the young woman. She was fairly well built, not at all bad looking by Ronin's standards at all. Some of those kinds of thoughts even creped into his head when she turned to look at him with a pair of brown eyes. Unlike Reku, Ronin hadn't been so successful in the department of love.

About a year ago, after a while of fighting and disagreeing, Sachiko decided she had had enough and left Ronin. Of course, like the old saying goes 'you don't know what you've got until its gone', Ronin soon realized how good of a thing Sachiko was to him but, she had already left and refused to come back to him. Leaving him heartbroken and completely alone, literally, as Reku and Akina moved away recently and all he had ever known as friends with them.

"Yes?" The woman's voice entranced Ronin imminently, soft and pleasant. "Is there something I can help you with sir?" She asked, finally getting his attention back to the conversation at hand.

"Um…yeah." Ronin fumbled with a mess of papers on his passenger side seat until he came to a small sticky note. Turning, he handed the woman the small note. "I am looking for some friends of mine. They just recently moved to this neighbor hood and I'm not quite sure where they live yet. Could you direct me towards this address?"

"hmm…" the woman rubbed her chin slightly as she stared at the piece of paper. "Well of course I could! This address is in the same neighborhood as a friend of mine I was on the way to see this morning." She handed the paper back to Ronin through the car window.

"Oh, so we were going the same direction." Ronin smiled slightly. "Care for a ride then? You could direct me to the place quickly that way." He asked, waiting patently for a response from the woman that was now leaning against his car.

Brushing a lock of her blond hair out of her face, she nodded slightly. "Sure, that would be fine." She walked quickly around the small black car, opening the passenger side door. Hesitating, she judged if Ronin was really trust worthy before she got into his car.

"Oh." He smiled, moving the pile of papers out of the passenger side seat so she could have a place to sit down. Once throwing the mess into his back seat he reached out his hand to the woman who was still standing outside his car. "My name is Ronin. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Reaching back, she took his hand in her delicate hand and shook it gently. "Nice to meet you Ronin, my name is Kaira and the pleasure is all mine." She smiled, finding some inner reason to trust this strange man she had just met, she quickly jumped into the seat next to him and closed the car door.

Slowly, Ronin pulled away from the curb, following the direction that Kaira pointed him in.

"You think I'm out yet Kiro?" Reku asked, placing his hand on the top card of his deck. With a jerking motion, he snapped the top card off his deck. "I'll just show you otherwise. Draw! I'll start by setting one of my cards face-down on my side of the field." Reku slid the card he had drawn into his duel disk, it flashing into life on the field in front of him. "And I'll be summoning my Flare Ninja (1500/1200) in attack mode. With his special power, I'll summon out my Flare Samurai (1500/1200)."

Two showers of bright light erupted on the field before Reku and his set card. From the right hand column of light came a monster in a black and red body suit. All of his body was covered save the spot by his face where two eyes peered out at the world. Next to him, his duo in crime appeared, a black and red armored samurai monster. On his head he wore a helmet with a star design on the front, the sides coming down smoothly against the side of his dark skinned face.

"Dual summoning two monsters with equal stats." Kiro smirked. "And both of those stats are far to low to deal any damage to my powered up Gravekeeper monsters. So do answer me a question, how did you get so much credit as a good duelist if you play moves like that?" Kiro was acting as smug as he possibly could, pointing to the newly summoned monsters with an accusing finger.

"We shall see." Reku smirked back, waving his arm across his body. "But until then, I will just be ending my turn on that turn."

"Then I will have to do more damage to you." Kiro began to reach for his deck of cards. "I draw, and summon out my Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier (1500/1000) (2000/1500) in attack mode." The tan skinned Egyptian monster appeared on Kiro's field, snapping around a very decorative Egyptian style spear. Smirking, it began to gain power from the field card that was around it. "My Spear Soldier can deal damage through defense, so even if you decide to defend, you won't be safe. But for now, he'll be attacking your Samurai monster!" Kiro snapped his arm out, motioning to the waiting samurai monster.

"You've really thought I was so bad at this game that you'd attack even though I have set a card on my field and then played a weaker monster out in attack mode?" Reku pressed on of the buttons on the back of his duel disk. "I got to where I am, because of my skill and cards. And because I fought better skilled, and apparently better looking, opponents in my time. Trap card: Mirror Force!"

"Mirror Force!" Kiro's eyes widened at the trap card that flipped up. He watched with horror as the metal tip of the spear crashed into a reflective barrier that sprung up around the attacked monster. _"Mirror Force destroys all monsters on my side of the field in attack mode when I attack, which at this point is every one of my monsters."_ Kiro grimaced at the activation of the effect of the card, sending rays of light back and piercing through the chests of the three monsters that belonged to Kiro, destroying them instantly.

"I see you understand the effect of my trap card." Reku smiled wide as he watched Kiro slid the three monster cards into his graveyard.

"Shut up and take your turn already." Kiro growled, bringing his lips at the corners of his mouth upwards, baring some rather sharp teeth that at first sight scared Reku to see.

"Draw." Reku said, still staring at Kiro's mouth, though it was closed tightly now. Did he really see a pair of fangs in his mouth? Maybe it was just too early in the morning for him to be dueling like this. "I set this card face-down on my side of the field." With a flick of his wrist, the card he was holding found its home in the slot on his duel disk. "And next I'll just have my two Flare monsters atttack you directly."

Blasting their way across the field, Reku's two monsters slammed into Kiro, forcing him to slide back across the lawn with the shock wave from the attacks. His eyes darted down at the white wrist gadget on his arm as it started to beep.

Reku- 2100 LP  
Kiro-500 LP

"Why not summon something else and finish me off?" Kiro asked, cocking an eyebrow at Reku. He slowly walked back up to his dueling spot on the field. "I mean, you just now gave me another turn to fight back against you. I could turn this duel around right at this point." He placed the gloved hand on the top card of his deck, waiting for Reku to claim that his turn was over.

"Well, who knows?" Reku shrugged, looking over his hand. _"Possibly because I don't have a monster I can summon…"_ He sweat dropped at his opponent's lack of knowledge. Bringing his eyes up, he smiled warmly. "Oh yes, your move."

"'bout time." Kiro growled, snapping the top card off his deck and swinging it around in front of his face. "I set these cards face-down on my side of the field, ending my own turn just that fast." With a ripple of light, two set cards appeared on Kiro's field in all of its glory. The only thing standing between Reku and his life points.

"Interesting." Reku scratched his chin at the defensive wall he could see Kiro building. This wasn't the toughest duel he had been in, nor the most intense, but it sure wasn't easy. "Draw." He announced, sliding the top card off his deck and looking at its face. Adding it to the hand he already had, Reku prepared to finish this duel, or unveil some of Kiro's trap cards. "Go my Flare Ninja! Attack his life points directly now!"

"Reveal trap!" Kiro shouted, one of his set cards flipping up on his field. "Dead Spirit Zoma, a trap monster that will serve as a protective wall between you and me." Kiro smirked as a dark purple dragon monster popped out of the trap card. Sliding, the continuous trap card slid under the monster, indicating that it was in defense mode (1800/500).

"I don't care if you have a defense." Reku smirked, "Flare Ninja still destroys it before you go onto the attack with it." The black clothed ninja launched high into the air, whipping its arm across its boy and sending a wave of shurikens racing across the field and slicing through the strange monster, causing it to explode in yellow flames.

"You fell into that trap perfectly." Kiro's head lowered towards the ground. His fangs poked out from the corners of his mouth once again. "When my Zoma card goes to the graveyard, the monster that destroyed it in battle has its attack points taken out of your life points."

The yellow flames whipped across the field, engulfing Reku whole and causing him to step back by the heat produced in the hologram.

Reku- 600 LP  
Kiro-500 LP

"Ok then." Reku watched his life point's drop from the effect of the monster. He wiped off a few beads of sweat that had started to form on his brow. Kiro wasn't a push over, and he could tell that this wasn't Kiro's full power. It wasn't his full force either, but at the present, they were not push overs. Holding up his arm, he pointed to Kiro with his palm. "Flare Samurai attacks then, what else you got to protect yourself?"

"This." Kiro pointed to his set card. "It's called Rite of Spirit. I'm sure you'll remember it from earlier in this duel as well. I get to revive one of my monsters to my field, in attack mode, and I choose Gravekeeper's Assailant (1500/1500) (2000/1000).

With an up rush of yellow and white lights, the trap card activated, brining with it the familiar dagger wielding monster. The power of the field magic card around him increased his power once again, placing him higher than either of Reku's monsters.

"So what will you do now?" Kiro smirked, watching the samurai sheath its sword once again, slinking back to Reku's field next to the ninja monster that was still standing there. "I mean, you obviously can't over power my monster. What will you do?"

"I'll just end my turn." Reku growled, angry at the way Kiro was talking to him. Who did he think he was, its not like he had been playing very dangerously himself. Why in the hell was he criticizing Reku's dueling when his was no better?

Just then, the duel was interrupted as a car pulled up to the curb in front of the yard. From the car emerged Ronin and Kaira, both of them running up the lawn to see what was going on. They looked back and forth, wondering what sparked a sudden duel this early in the morning.

"Thought so." Kiro smirked, his fangs once again being shown from under his top lip as he brought his attention back to the duel. Reku stared at the teeth for a second, but still didn't want to say anything about them. He took a few seconds to glance at the new viewers that stood on the side of the field so to direct his attention from Kiro's odd teeth. His attention was snapped back though when Kiro's voice rang through the morning. "Go Assailant, attack his samurai now!" Kiro ordered, holding his drawn card in his right hand.

The black assassin jumped into the air, snapping the wavy dagger across its body, drilling it deep into the body of the warrior monster that stood on Reku's field. Nodding in pleasure, the Gravekeeper's Assailant withdrew the dagger and hopped back to Kiro's field. A few seconds later, the samurai started screaming, exploding with the wound it sustained.

Reku-100 LP  
Kiro-500 LP

"And it's your turn." Kiro added the card he had drawn to his other cards he already held in his hand. "What will you do to fight back from only 100 life points?"

"I've come back from even lower before." Reku assured Kiro, sliding the top card off his deck and whipping it through the air until it was in front of his face. "And this is the magic card that will end this duel right here, right now." Sliding the card through the air, Reku placed it in front of one of the slots on his emerald green duel disk.

"What kind of card is it that will finish me in this turn?" Kiro asked, waiting for Reku to slid the card into his duel disk. "I dare you to try anything. Anything at all."

"I will." Reku sneered, sliding the card fully into the slot on his duel plate. "Magic card, Tremendous Flame activates!" A rainbow of colors surged through the duel disk as the magic card began to activate, appearing in front of Reku in holographic form. "This magic card deals you 1000 points of direct damage, while dealing me only 500 points of damage."

"What?" Kiro's eyes widened as he realized Reku was going to tie them. "Why would you play a card like that?" Kiro was soon washed over though in a wave of red flames spurting out of the card image. Covering his face, he waited for the flames to pass before he looked up at Reku again.

Reku-0 LP  
Kiro-0 LP

"Why? Because it allowed me to win this duel easy." Reku smirked, acting like a teenager with a secret his opponent didn't know. This, of course, pissed Kiro off immensely.

"What are you talking about!" Kiro snapped, clenching his right fist into a ball. "You lost too, this game ended in a tie." Ronin, Kaira, and Akina looked at Reku once again, they believed Kiro to be right, and according to the scores, that was the case.

"Well, you're wrong." Reku pointed to his field. "Or did you not realize that I have a card that forced its activation just a second ago. This card is a trap card known as Spark of Life. It instantly activates when my life points hit zero, increasing my life points to 500 before the duel is counted as being over."

Reku-500 LP  
Kiro-0 LP

"Meaning; I win." Reku smiled as the holograms vanished from the field. Picking his cards up off his duel disk, he let it fold up and began to walk back to his front door where Akina still stood and was watching the duel.

Kiro just stood there for a second, the duel plate of light vanishing from the side of his duel disk. The cards on and in it dropped to the grass below. That really wasn't what he was expecting to happen.

"You're better than I first believed you to be, Reku Yamashita." Kiro turned his head to stare at the black haired man who was now standing with the woman he loved. "I will admit that I have lost, this time anyways."

"Reku…Yamashita…" Kaira started to walk slowly across the lawn to were Kiro was standing, stopping she turned to face Ronin once again. "That would make you…Ronin…Endo…"

"Yup, that'd be me." Ronin rubbed the back of his head with his hand, smiling dumbly at the girl who was letting a limp finger hang in the air as she realized who she really was pointing to.

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE:**

**Necrovalley**  
Field Magic  
As long as this card remains on the field, negate the effects of Magic, Trap, and Monster Cards that affect a card(s) in the Graveyard, and neither player can remove cards in the Graveyards from play. Also, as long as this card remains on the field, increase the ATK and DEF of all monsters that include Gravekeeper's in their card name by 500 points.

Kiro: "Welcome humans. This is a new section to these stories, a Card of the Episode. The first, and today's card, is that of my very own deck. Necrovalley; the home of my Gravekeeper's. This card not only gives my monsters a power boost on both the attack and defense by 500 points, but cuts off all use of cards that affect the graveyard. Except some of the other cards I keep in my deck, but I still make the use of being the only player to access the graveyard. Over all, a good card to maximize the power in my deck, hope you see the potential in this card that I do."

A/N: Welcome one and all to the first chapter of my new fic; Team Zero: The Last Guard. This is going to only get better and better, that is something you can bet on. If you've been a fan of my Team Zero series, or even my Last Guard of the Spirits fic, than you'll most likely enjoy this fic. Though, I will not penalize you if you have not read my Last Guard of the Spirits fic, but it is highly recommended to understand some of the things I'm going to be hitting on in this story. I will though make things clear, and explain what is needed to know, if you feel brave and want to continue into this fic without that knowledge under your belt already. The same thing is going to apply for my previous Team Zero fics; Team Zero: Duelists, Team Zero: Crystals, and Team Zero: Orichalcos.

Until I update next though, have a nice day folks!   
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	2. Awakening of both Good and Evil

Episode 2: Awakening of both Good and Evil

Akina pushed open a white painted wooden door with her shoulder and stepped through into her new living room. In her hands, she carried a circular tray with five glasses on it; two large clear glasses and three smaller white glasses. Setting the tray down on the coffee table, she looked around at the group of people that sat in her living room at the present moment. With a quick movement, she began to distribute the glasses of liquid to the appropriate people.

Handing one of the small white cups of coffee to Reku, who sat in a comfortable chair facing forward to the front door, he smiled at her and took it. On a couch next to him and slid so that it was facing inwards, sat Kiro and Kaira. Akina handed Kiro a cup of coffee and gave Kaira one of the two large clear glasses, which contained Iced Tea. The last cup of coffee he gave to Ronin who sat in an identical chair on the other end of the couch facing towards Reku.

With all the drinks distributed, Akina took the last glass of Iced Tea and sat on the arm of the large chair that Reku was sitting in, taking a long drink from the glass.

"Thank you for the drink Miss Oshiro." Kaira smiled, bowing her head to show respect to the woman on the chair's arm. Lifting her head, she took a long drink from her own Iced Tea.

"Please, please." Akina began to blush slightly. "Akina is just fine." Her eyes slightly avoided the woman that sat on her couch, embarrassed from the sudden respect that she was being shown. No one had really treated her like a famous star before, so she wasn't really sure how to react to this kind of attention.

"Alright" Kaira smiled warmly at the woman "Akina. That is fine with me, if that is really what you want to be called. And I assume you want to be called Reku too." She said, dropping her eyes down to the man who was sitting in the chair. He nodded slowly before taking another drink from his cup of coffee.

"You know, were not all that much different from ordinary people." Ronin chimed in, drawing the blond haired woman's attention towards him. He took a sip of his own drink before continuing to talk. "It's not like we are celebrities or anything. We just got lucky back in the day. And we worked together to win those tournament victories, it is not like we did it on our own."

"True. But you'll have to forgive us; we still have to consider you pretty special. We are not really tournament going people, so it's amazing to find people who had their names out there and proved their skills being here in person." She smiled, her head shifting around the three of them before coming to a stop on Kiro who sat next to her. Placing her hand on Kiro's shoulder, who had remained silent through this whole conversation. "Who could have guessed you'd be living next to these people though? I mean, the odds are incredible."

"Well, after one duel," Kiro growled, not even lifting his eyes from the brown liquid in the glass before him. "I can't really say that they are all that great. I was expecting a bit more, but yet, I must admit that I didn't put out my full, even if I said I would."

Reku just looked from Ronin to Akina, smiling dumbly at Kiro's last comment.

* * *

In a deep, dark, damp cave, a low rumbling sound could be heard echoing off the walls. From deep in the back of the cave, three small orbs began to catch the light of the outside world through the cracks of the ceiling. The reflection was red, sinister feeling.

"About time." A dark, deep voice rang from inside the cave. A shadowed figure began to stagger forward, a burst of white smoke blasted out of the cave from behind it. "Over 10,000 years of sleep doesn't help my plans at all. It is about time I gained my power back to an extent that I could rise up again." The voices, obviously male, spoke aloud though it appeared as if no one was there to talk to.

Walking up to the front of the cave, the strange figure placed his hand on a large collection of boulders that had been piled up in front of the cave entrance. With some kind of blast from his palm, the strange monster blew the entire blockade out of his way, stepping out into the light for the first time in over 10,000 years.

He was about six and a half feet high, standing on two large, three toed feet. Large, pearly white talons were at the end of each of its toes, digging into the fresh dirt. Running up its bare legs till it came to its knees where some kind of strange knee pads rested with spikes on each of them. The knee pads were connected to a piece of leather that ran up the rest of its legs until its lower torso, where it split into two large straps running over the shoulders of the beast. The head of the beast was human shape, with a medium length patch of dark blue, almost black, hair on the top of its head and running down the back and the side. From the front of the head, two large ivory colored horns sprouted out, curving in making a look of devil horns.

"The light of the world is so…bright." The beast growled, shadowing his face with a large, red claw like hand, with a typical set of four fingers and a thumb. "Soon though, I'll drown both worlds in darkness, bring about the kingdom I can see any kind of attack coming a mile away."

With that, the hand was lowered, showing the face of the beast. It had two, blood red eyes in the normal places for a human head, but a third eye sat in the middle of its forehead, also that same blood red color. It smiled, bearing a set of razor sharp fangs.

"Seems I need to resurrect my servants though." The beast growled, looking at the palm of its red hand. "My power has not fully awakened yet, and most of it gone in that last attack I just launched."

With that, the monster bent down on the large, muscled legs, springing up into the air. From the back of the beast, a pair of raven black, bird like wings sprouted from under the muscled skin. Flapping a few times, the monster lifted higher and higher into the air above the cave it was just imprisoned in. With a quick look around, the beast figured out which way it needed to go and soared off at an inhuman speed.

Something began to smolder, sending a few streams of gray smoke into the air from below. On the soft green grass in front of the cave there were two large burned in impressions, both of the outlines of the beasts' horrid feet.

* * *

A wave of energy burst up a golden stair case, blasting through walls harmlessly, but causing the whole palace to shake from the tremendous power that was suddenly released.

The energy made Order snap her head up, staring off to the far wall of the chamber that she was standing in. Whipping her head around, her long flowing hair whipped around her and landed in her face. Sitting in the corner of the room, a robed figured crouched down, but its head was also snapping around with the sudden blast of power.

"Deruku, did you feel that as well?" Order gasped, watching the robed figure stand up and walk forward in the golden chamber room. "That felt like the crystals energy. If it is, do you think it could be…him?"

"I hope like hell it's not." The robed figure, Deruku, stated as he moved towards the door of the golden room. "And may some divine intervention save us all if it is. I'm going to go down stairs to the crystal and see what is going on." With that, he took a few steps out the door but stopped when Order placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You aren't going alone. I'll come with you." She spoke softly, but sternly as she let her hand slide slowly off his shoulder when she saw him shaking his head.

"No, you need to wait here incase they show up. Plus, if something happens down there to me, then, you'll just have to pull the strings and find some way to stop his rise." The hood of the robe lowered to the floor of the hallway he was standing in. "I can only assume his power has not fully awakened yet, so we must act quickly. Once he builds up enough energy, he'll come this way in search of the crystal again. We cannot allow him to use the crystal for his ugly plans."

"Alright." She bowed, stepping back into the room. "But do hurry up; I don't want to know that this is what we think it is. I mean, it could just be…" Another pulse wave blasted up from the large crystal that rested in the bottom chambers of the palace, sending chills down both of their spines and stopping Order mid-sentence. Looking at each other horrified, they nodded.

"Alert the guardians. The time has come for their purpose to come to pass again." Turning, Deruku took off at a full speed run down the hallway, vanishing in the shadows of the corridor. His voice echoed back through the corridor. "And hurry."

"Right!" She shouted back, running into the golden chamber and rushing up to one of the large, square tables in the middle of the room. Cupping her hands, she closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

A light aura began to form around her body, flowing from her toes all the way up and down each strand of hair on her head. In the cupped hands, a small, glowing orb of pure white energy appeared, growing in size.

"It is time." She spoke under hear breath, grasping the orb of light in her hand, before slamming it down on the golden table. "Seek out the guards, rely the message I have entrusted with you." And with that, she lifted her hand to reveal that the orb was completely gone, vanished into thin air.

Sighing, she walked slowly over to the large throne and plopped her butt down in it. Placing her hands over her face, she seem to just rest there for a short time.

* * *

Deruku pushed open the doors that led into the large, secure chamber resting miles below the palace. There, in the center of the room stood a large, clear crystal, glinting in the light being produced by a row of torches that ran their way around the four walls. Inside the crystal, it appeared that lava was trapped, for ever moving in an endless loop in the stone walls.

Shuddering, the crystal began to glow; blasting out another wave of energy that rushed passed the robed figure, tracing its way along the walls and out of the chamber. Deruku stood his ground though, unwilling to let the blast of energy phase him in the least. He slowly began to walk forward, placing a black gloved hand on the surface of the crystal.

"It is reacting to a mass amount of power." His eyes tracing up the sides of the large rock, he noticed a lot of cracks, and chunks missing from the sides of the crystal. He figured this must be how it broke apart over the years from its tremendous fall from space. The chunks of crystals were probably scattered about both Earth and the Dominion of the Beast.

"This thing is incredible." He stammered, feeling the aura that course through the cold surface where his gloved hand still sat pressing against it. "The power in this thing could easily destroy the universe if let out into the wrong hands." His head dropped again, the hood on the robe sinking lower to follow the dropping head. "I just pray that won't happen. If he comes here and gets his dirty little hands on this treasure, then there would be no end to his evil."

* * *

The red monster stood in front of a large stone faced wall. Lines were carved into this wall, painted with a dark, navy blue color in a large, creative circle pattern. Stretching across the entire surface of the rock which stood a good ten feet high as well as across that pattern dipped in and out, creating a non-symmetrical mural.

"The seal held strong." His gruff voice came from his mouth, cranking his head back to look at the whole pattern painted into the wall. "I'm surprised those two didn't just bust out of their stone imprisonment ages ago."

Running his hand down the groove carved in the wall, the beast's three eyes scanned the surface, waiting for any reaction, any indication of the break in the seal. His eyes widened, smiling with his fangs poking out from under his top and bottom lips when he scratched over one area, causing the seal to glow with a light blue light.

"Found it." The demon sneered, pleased with finding it so quickly. With a long, yellow claw on his hand, he began to scratch away the surface of the paint in the groove in the wall, causing the thing to start glowing brighter and brighter, shaking the whole rock wall. "Very poor place to leave a break in the seal, right in front of everyone's eyes and not so difficult to find."

With that, the monster took a few steps back, holding out his palm towards the rock wall. A small bead of red energy began to form in the center of his five outstretched fingers sending cracks of red lightning out against the skin of the beast and shooting up its arm. With a grunt, the monster released the blast at the place where he had been scratching before, blowing the whole wall down with it. His arm recoiled backwards from the intense blast before his body was consumed by smoke emulating from the explosion.

"FINALLY!" A female voice with a foreign accent screamed from inside the hole in the wall. "It was getting slightly cramped in here." And with that, a purple blur went rushing out of the cave, hovering in the middle of the air and gazing out at the world. Shielding her eyes with a light purple hand, the new figure hissed slightly. "But it sure in the hell was a lot better where it wasn't so bright."

"Dementia." The red demon that was standing on the ground below the hovering women called up, getting the woman to instantly drop from her altitude to the ground in front of him. Whipping a long black cape out of her way, she bent down in front of him.

"Lord Freyr." She head stayed bowed, staring at the ground. Her long, dark blue hair falling down over her head and down like a veil in front of her face. "It is a great honor to see you again after 10,000 years waiting."

"It is good to see you again to Dementia." The being, Freyr, agreed. His voice was that of a king talking to a loyal subject, and the scene supported that theory. "Was it really crowded in there with you and Thoth?"

"It was sire." A male voice rang out from inside the whole in the wall. Stepping out, a strange tan man with a purple breast plate armor walked forward slightly. On his head, he wore a head piece with red and pale yellow strips, obviously Egyptian in origin. His face was a bit elongated in the front, almost looking canine. Dark purple armor adorned his legs as well, with some kind of pale yellow fabric poking out at the sides. His arms and feet were bare and dark tan.

With a swift motion, this being known as Thoth bowed down next to the light purple skinned woman.

"Especially with all of Dementia's whining." Thoth continued to speak, earning a slug on the shoulder from the woman next to him. Freyr just kind of chuckled at the sight of his two servants fighting.

Dementia whipped her head up, brushing the hair out of her face so she could look upon her master. Her eyes were amber color, slotted in an in-human fashion. From her upper lip also came two long fangs, making her have the appearance of a vampire.

"But that is in the past now. We are free, and I'm going to assume that we are going to get back to the plan we left off at all those years ago." She spoke, a smirk crossing her face. It quickly turned to a frown when Freyr glared down at her.

"It is not your place to assume. You are a lowly demon of the night, and no vampire can compare to the type of rank I have." All three of his red eyes glared through her for a second, causing her to physically shake. Adverting his gaze, he looked at his other servant who continued to bow before him. "And you'd both be better off if you would remember that."

"Yes Master Freyr." They both replied simultaneously.

"Now." He said and bade them both to rise from their crouching positions with a rising of his red hand. "We are going to strike now, while they haven't had much time to prepare any kind of waiting arsenal to stop our coming. I'm sure they are already aware of my presence, if not both of yours too."

"We must move quickly my lord." Thoth placed his right hand on his purple breast plate. "As we waste precious time standing around with idol talk, they are most likely building up some kind of counter strike. And sire," Thoth's head bowed slightly, "my power has not fully come back to me."

"Neither has mine, Lord Freyr." Dementia threw in.

"I know." Freyr turned his back on the two of them and began to walk away. "None of us are at full strength yet. But we shall strike now while the battle ground is still somewhat in our favor. Come now." And with that, the three of them began to walk off across the grassy field, leaving the large smoldering stone face far behind.

* * *

"Well, it was lovely talking to you." Kaira bowed slightly to Reku, Akina and Ronin who were still standing in the house. Kiro and Kaira were standing down on the lawn, looking up the stone stairs to them. "We'll have to get together some other time."

"Yeah." Akina agreed, smiling warmly at the blond haired girl. "We'll have tea again some time. Come on over at anytime, I loved the company." The two girls smiled for a bit before Kiro grabbed Kaira's shirt and began to drag her off.

"Come on, I don't have all day to stand here." He growled, stopping and turning his head back around. He glared at the three of them in the doorway still through his thick black glasses. "And don't worry Reku, I will be back to duel you again sometime. I have a score to settle with you."

"Bring it on anytime." Reku smiled back. "I'd love to add another win under my belt." He tried to sound arrogant, but still he had a joking undertone that gave him away. Kiro smirked slightly as well, a glint of his teeth made Reku take a serious tone. "Hey Kiro." He called after the man who was walking away again, still dragging Kaira behind him.

"What?" Kiro growled, stopping on the lawn but not turning around to face Reku.

"What is with the outfit, and the teeth?" Reku asked, watching as a wave of fear flushed over Kaira's face. This just made him even more curious. "What is going on?"

"I had an accident a few years ago. It's nothing I like to show off if I can help it." Kiro growled, walking away. "And its not a pretty sight, so I would advise against trying to see what I look like."

"I see." Reku said under his breath. With that, the three of them walked back into Reku's and Akina's house and closed the door. "Well, our new neighbors seem to be interesting." Reku sweet dropped at Akina, who nodded back.

"At least Kaira is a bit nicer."

"She is really nice." Ronin said, plopping his behind in to the chair he had been sitting in for a long time. "With out her help, I don't think I would have been able to find where you guys live…" His sentence trailed off as a wave of fear flushed over his face.

Reku and Akina had the same look adorning their faces. They could feel it; they felt a presence that they hadn't felt for going on five years. Their crystals were calling to them, dragging their attentions to them. Reku and Akina took off in a dead run for their bed room as Ronin went the opposite direction to his car that was parked out front, barely taking the time to stop and open the front door.

Kiro and Kaira looked out of one of Kiro's front windows facing out towards the front lawn. They saw Ronin in a dead run towards his card, flinging the door open hard and diving into the passenger side throwing crap around.

"Strange, I wonder what he is looking for." Kaira commented, before turning into concern as Kiro began to shrink back from the window, his hands clasping around his head. "What is the matter Kiro?"

"What is this feeling?" Kiro asked, falling down to his knees. "I feel cold inside. I feel…I feel as if a terrible power is rising, far passing my current level of strength." His head snapped upwards, the jerking motion throwing the black sunglasses to the carpeted floor. His eyes were wide with fear, but not just any eyes, demonic eyes. Kiro's eyes had no pupil, just a solid red iris that rested in the white orb. Streaks of red washed outwards from the iris, giving the eye a dark and sinister look.

Ronin busted back through the front door holding a brown backed card and an emerald green duel disk, racing through Reku's and Akina's house to their bed room where he found them both standing in front of their closet holding glass boxes. Opening the containers, they both pulled out the cards that rested on pedestals in them. Setting the boxes on the floor they turned to face their friend holding the brown backed cards.

"What is going on?" Ronin asked, the card in his own hand beginning to glow with a sapphire aura. "The crystal cards remained dormant for five years, what could possibly be causing them to activate at a time like this? It doesn't make any sense."

"I know." Reku said, staring at the two cards he was holding in his hand. He was the only person to hold two crystal cards, the Ruby Crystal as well as the Onyx Crystal that he won many years ago when he defeated Chaos. Ronin held his Sapphire Crystal and Akina was staring deeply into her Amethyst Crystal. They were all glowing with their respective colors.

"Order!" Ronin screamed into the ceiling, his eyes franticly shaking at it waiting for a response. Closing his eyes, he concentrated as hard as he could. "Order, please answer me. Dammit, Order where are you?"

"**I'm here, we don't have time for idle talk, what is it?"** Her voice was on the frantic side as well, the kids had never heard her like this. They were a bit stunned at the rudeness of the voice that was ringing in all of their heads through the crystal cards. **"Well? What do you want, we are kind of having a problem here so make it quick."**

"What is going on Order?" Reku demanded to know. "Our crystals are going crazy, and you're not helping calm us either. Explain now."

"**No time, you'll have to come to the Dominion of the Beast if you want to know what is happening. Do you all still have your medallions that contain your small chunk of the crystal?"**

The three of them nodded, pulling out a golden medallion from under their shirts. It was circular, about an inch thick with a design carved into it that made it look highly valuable. In the middle of the chunk of gold, a small clear rock sat, the image of flowing lava rushing through its walls.

"**Good, then hold on, I'll transfer you all here."** Order's voice was still in a panic when it dropped from their minds. Seconds later, a large tower of light engulfed each and every one of them, causing them to vanish from the bed room without a trace left.

Order ran frantically pasted the materializing people, startling them with the sudden sight. Without even greeting them she ran as fast as she could to the window of the large golden chamber. Slamming her hands down her head whipped left and right, looking over the landscape that could be seen out the window.

Nodding to one another, Reku, Ronin and Akina ran up to the window too and looked out over Order's shoulder.

"What are we looking for?" Ronin asked after a few long seconds. "There is nothing out there but a bunch of grass and flowers." This…earned him three slaps on the back of his head, one from each of the other people standing at that window.

"Can't you feel it?" Reku asked, looking at the black haired man that stared stupidly at him. "There is a great power, and it's coming this way at tremendous speed." Turning to Order, he placed his hand on her shoulder and drew her to face him. "Tell me, what is going on? What is coming, do you know?"

"Of course I know, and I wish it weren't." Order shrank past the group, staggering around the chamber as if she was going to faint. Collapsing into the large, golden chair that rested in the room, she watched as the three of them came running up to her. "Freyr."

"What?" Akina questioned, cocking an eyebrow at the strange word. "What does 'freyr' mean?"

"It is a name, not a word." Order placed her right elbow on the arm of the golden chair and rested her head on her palm. "Freyr is probably the greatest evil that you will ever have to face. You know that power you're feeling now?" She asked, getting a nod from the three of them.

"It's growing stronger isn't it?" Ronin narrowed his eyes, fearing the swift nod from Orders head. "Where is this Freyr, why is he attacking now?"

"He's been in imprisonment for over 10,000 years. He was part of the ancient battle that was waged when the crystal first found its way to earth all those years ago. I'm betting he's not alone too." Order lifted her head, standing up and running back to the window, shrinking back when she saw what was outside. "Thoth and Dementia are with him…"

"Who?" Reku's eyes cocked at the new names. "Wait, there are more of these things?"

Order flipped around, her long white dress whipping out of her way as she turned with such a speed. Nodding solemnly she began to walk back to the group of three. "And they are here." She spoke, fear racing through her voice.

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about little old us now are you?" A female's voice rang out from behind the four of them, flipping them around instantly. There stood a purple skinned woman with long flowing blue hair and a black cape wrapped around her body. Next to her stood a tanned man with an elongated face and an Egyptian style head dress. Purple armor adorned his chest all the way down his legs, leaving his muscled arms in plain view.

In the middle of the other two stood a large, red skinned behemoth of a monster. His arms were crossed across his bare chest, his three eyes glaring at the four humans that stood in the room.

Behind the three monsters there was a large burn mark in the wall, the stone melting and dripping down the opening. They had literally melted the wall to get in.

"Freyr I presume." Ronin spoke, venom dripping off each of the words in his sentence. His eyes returned the glare from the large red skinned monster before it nodded in agreement.

"Aye, I am the one they call Freyr." The demon spoke, his voice deep and dark. It instantly forced Ronin to drop his tough guy façade and shiver with fear. "And you, you are nothing but a worthless human that seems to be standing in my way. Now…" The third eye on the top of the beasts head widened suddenly, a strange gray aura flowing around the iris inside it. "…you hold a chunk of the crystal. All of you do."

"Why in the hell would these brats be holding a piece of the crystal?" Thoth interjected, his voice still respectful of Freyr but at the same time, contradicting what he had just said. "Unless…" The brown skinned man turned his head towards the group at the far end of the room. "…you've assembled a team of humans to act as guardians to the crystal."

"Human's?" Dementia giggled at the word. "Like a bunch of humans could understand the full extent of the power they are using, much less have the power to wield it themselves. They are not an obstacle."

"Hey!" Ronin yelled at the purple skinned woman. "Yeah, we are a bunch of humans. But these crystals chose us to use their power. We have unlocked a tremendous amount of strength from them, so if I were you, I'd just back off as you have no proof to back up your claims."

"You want me to get proof?" Dementia glared at the boy. "I'll get the proof then." Turning to the red demon and bowing slightly she continued to speak. "Freyr, is it alright if I teach this worthless scum his place in the world?"

"Yes. You may proceed. The entertainment should be good. Just..." Smirking slightly as he and Thoth began to back up and Dementia started to step forward. "…don't beat him too fast."

"Yes Lord Freyr." She bowed again, holding up her left arm like a duelist. On it, a small black wrist band sat, folding out wards and spreading open, looking like a bat wing. Fanning out, it created five monster card zones, with slots in the thickness of the duel disk for the magic and trap arsenal. "Ready boy? We can play this ancient game and I'll gain the proof I need that you are not worth shit."

"Alright, I accept your challenge." Ronin declaired, sliding on the duel disk he was still holding in his hand. Taking the crystal card he still held in his hand he placed it on the top of a stack of cards he pulled out of his pocket. Flicking his wrists, he began to shuffle the stack of cards through.

* * *

Sachiko sat a brown bag down in a bedroom. Sitting on the soft mattress lined with a colorful flower patterned bed sheet, she stared out the window into the deep blue sky above. Not a cloud could be seen, and the only shadows that cast upon the ground where those of passing birds flying over head.

"Will this room be to your liking?" A female's voice rang through the small square room, causing Sachiko to jerk around to see a blond haired woman standing there. She had short hair, cut up and styled to look very beautiful.

"Oh yes Usami. Thank you so much for letting me stay here for a while. I really appreciate it." Sachiko got up, running around the bed to the girl that was standing in the doorway. Throwing her arms around Usami's shoulder she hugged her. "It's just been so hard…"

"I know, I know." Usami began to pat Sachiko's back. "It's alright, it really is. Though my brother is coming to visit for a while and was going to get my guest bedroom." Usami said, pushing away so she could look at Sachiko in the face. "But I can make him sleep on the couch."

The two girls broke out giggling at this. They walked down the hall together, both of them just laughing and talking.

* * *

Kooru was sitting on top of a stone temple, resting in a crater on a hill side, miles above the city below. Legs crossed and eyes shut tightly he was in a meditative position. The strange man was obviously not human, just from the aura around him. He was a demon, but looked very human like. His long, flowing silver hair came down and rested on his shoulders, moving only slightly in the breeze that could be felt on this hill top.

His stone gray eyes snapped open when a small orb of light began to float up in front of him. Sitting there, he stared at the floated apparition of light for a few moments before reaching out with his right hand, taking the ball in it and squeezing tight. He seemed to be absorbing it through the palm of his hand, the power flowing up through his veins into his mind, he began to sweet profusely.

"I had been feeling it for a while now, but this is really disturbing news." He spoke slowly, angered slightly with the strange message he had received through the orb of light. Standing up, he leaped off the roof of the stone temple, landing flawlessly one the dirt surface of the ground below. "Seems the time has finally come. I was hopping that it wouldn't." His head bowed, he began to walk back into the temple that he was sitting on, disappearing into the darkness beyond the door frame.

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE:**

**Spark of Life**  
Trap  
When your life points drop to 0 while this card is face-down on your field, this card activates before you lose the duel. Increase your life points by 500 points.

Reku: "Well, it's my turn to be doing this Card of the Episode thing. And since this episode didn't have a duel, we'll pull one from the previous duel that saved my ass. Spark of Life is a trap that activates if it is on my field when my life points hit 0, causing them instantly to shoot up to 500 and sparing my life for a least a little longer in the duel. That one extra turn might be the turning point, allowing me that chance to grasp a victory. Never know when it could come in handy."

A/N: I've decided that on the basis that this is a new story, and on the fact that there wasn't any dueling in this episode (sorry folks for that), that I would update slightly earlier than normal. This is bringing together a lot of the characters, but there are still more to come. So let me introduce you to Freyr, Thoth and Dementia, the three badasses of this fic. Wait until you see my next episode!

Reviews and constructive critisizm are very much appriciated. I always love to hear from you, the readers, on what you think. Have a nice day folks! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


	3. Vampirism Bite

Episode 3: Vampirism Bite

Ronin slid his shuffled stack of cards into the emerald green duel disk resting on his left arm. The machine began to power up with a rainbow of lights. He looked up at his opponent, the purple skinned woman stood across the field smirking, bearing a set of razor sharp fangs. It then struck him.

"You're a vampire aren't you?" Ronin asked, narrowing his eyes at the woman who just began to giggle at him.

"Of course I am you pretty little fool." She placed the heel of her hand by her mouth to stifle herself from laughing to hard. She smirked, looking at Ronin's angry face. "Why? Once you realized I am not your average everyday opponent you realized that you don't have enough power to defeat me?"

"I've faced stranger things than a living vampire." Ronin narrowed his eyes, placing his hand on the top of his deck. "And you won't be winning this duel if I have anything to say about it. Draw!" He yelled, snapping the top five cards from his deck.

"We'll just see darling." Dementia slid the top five cards from her own deck. "Then let's get on with this duel."

Ronin-4000 LP  
Dementia-4000 LP

"Ronin." Reku called from behind his friend. Ronin turned around suddenly to see Reku, Akina and a still very freaked out Order standing behind him. "Are you sure you want to go through with this. These three give me a very bad feeling."

"They do to me too." Ronin nodded, turning his head back towards the purple skinned woman. "But if we don't stop them here, then who knows what could happen. This duel will continue, and it's my turn!" He yelled, snapping the top card off his deck and slashing it through the air. With a flick of his wrist he slid the card into his hand and pulled one of the other waiting cards out, landing in its place on Ronin's duel disk. "I start off by summoning Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness (1800/1500) in attack mode."

A large dark blue armored monster appeared on Ronin's field. The beast held a staff that had a yellow, sharpened tip at the end of it. Purple lines traced their ways across the armor of the beast, giving it an ocean like feeling with the blending of colors. Beady little eyes peered out from under a blue helmet that rested on the head of the beast.

Glancing over his hand, Ronin nodded. "That ends my turn."

"_Ronin is scared to go too far."_ Reku crossed his arms as he studied his friends opening move. _"He doesn't know what to expect from Dementia. His Warrior of Darkness is the key to revealing what kind of plays he should focus on. If her deck contains nothing but weak monsters, she'll be hopefully forced onto the defensive early on. But if she has powerful monsters, Ronin can reveal that without taking to large of a hit."_ Reku's eyes darted to Dementia who just sneered at her opponent.

"Darling, monsters like that won't save you nor will they help you to win this duel." She drew the top card off her deck, smirking at the face of the green bordered card that she now held. "I'll start with just this simple magic card. Soul Exchange allows me to take the essence of your monster, transferring to me for a single sacrifice." She pulled one of the other cards from her hand, placing it on her duel disk with incredible ease. "Though I cannot conduct a battle phase this turn, so you get lucky there."

"What do you summon with my monster's soul?" Ronin narrowed his eyes. Picking up the yellow monster card from his duel disk and sliding it into his graveyard slot. The hologram on the field showed his monster becoming nothing but a rag doll, exploding into small data fragments. The only thing that was left of his monster was a floating sphere of light, its soul. Rushing over to Dementia's field, it began to change, taking on a solid form.

"A monster known as Curse of Vampire (2000/800)." Dementia announced as the orb of light dimmed its bright glow to reveal a green haired, purple skinned monster. It was adorned with shiny blue armor, two large spikes on the shoulder pads. With its left arm it whipped a raven black cape around its body; it whipped back in an invisible wind. "You'll fine out the power of my beast soon enough, but for now I'll just set this one card on my field." Dementia continued, sliding one of her other cards into her duel disk. With a ripple of yellow light, the card hologram appeared behind her vampire monster. "This ends my turn darling. Take your turn so my monsters can feast upon each and every one of yours."

"In your dreams bitch." Ronin growled, angry at the accusation of his monsters being weak. "I'll take down your large beast with ease. Watch. Draw!" Sliding his drawn card into his field magic card slot instantly, the trap door slammed shut to start reading the newly inserted card. "Field magic card; A Legendary Ocean!"

A sea palace began to form behind the water duelist. A wave of water bursting out from the ground behind him, and crashing down on the dueling field, leaving a thin layer of water engulfing the whole floor of the chamber room.

"This will not only increase the attack and defense of all my water monsters by 200 points, but decreases their levels by one whole star. Meaning I can summon this level five monster without a tribute." Ronin smirked, slamming a new yellow bordered card down onto his duel disk. "Come out Terrorking Salmon (2400/1000) (2600/1200)."

A large, beige colored fish blast up out of the thin layer of water in front of Ronin as if the water was a deep lake. Flipping around in the air a few times, the large fish crashed down into the water once again causing a splash to wash over Ronin.

"Will you be attacking my vampire darling?" Dementia questioned, running her right hand under her chin. "I mean, your monster trumps my monsters attack by a grand 600 points."

"Yes it does." Ronin agreed, pointing to the armored vampire on his opponent's field. "So I'll show you that my monster is obviously superior. Terrorking Salmon attack her vampire now! Terror Wave!" The fish monster charged from under the surface level of the water, crashing up through the top and landing on the top of the vampire, brining it under the surface of the water with it.

Ronin-4000 L  
Dementia-3400 LP

Shrugging, Dementia didn't seem phased by the attack that was just launched against her. "It's not a big loss to me, and I'll show you why when you end your turn."

"Fine, try your best." Ronin frowned, pulling one of the cards in his hand out and sliding it into his duel disk. "I end my turn by setting this card face down." Inches above the thin plate of water appeared the brown backed card.

"Nothing you can do will save you from my vampire's curse." Dementia smirked, pulling the top card off her deck and adding it to her hand. "I pay 500 life points to trigger the special power of my Curse of Vampire."

Ronin-4000 LP   
Dementia-2900 LP

"By paying these 500 life points, I can revive my vampire to the field in attack mode, with a slight power boost of 500 points." A rush of lights burst upwards on Dementia's field, creating a pillar of sparks before the blue armored vampire appeared once again on her field, smirking with its rebirth into the duel (2500/1000).

"It came back." Akina shrieked with the cold look the vampire was giving out. "That nasty beast is stronger than ever."

"True, but Ronin still has a 100 point lead over it." Reku crossed his arms again. "That means that Dementia has another plan. She wouldn't be so damn smug if she didn't have some way to take out Ronin's beast and cause some damage to his life points."

"Darling, you have no clue how right your friend is." Dementia commented to Ronin over hearing Reku's speech. "I'll give my Curse of Vampire this equipment magic card that will bolster his attack force. Violet Crystal equips to only an undead monster and ups its attack and defense points by 300 points." (2500/1000) (2800/1300)

Around the neck of the green haired vampire appeared a necklace with a lovely, deep purple jewel embedded into the center of it. A faint aura was running off the accessory, seeping into the skin of Dementia's monster. Reaching up with a boney purple hand, the Curse of Vampire grasp the purple crystal, squeezing tightly around it as its attack points jumped up.

"Curse of Vampire attack his Salmon now! Vampirism Bite!" Dementia yelled, snapping her arm out towards Ronin's field. The beige fish burst up from under the layer of water just to be grabbed in the boney purple hands of the vampire. With a swift motion, it sunk its fangs into the scaled surface of the fish's body, causing the monster to explode instantly.

Ronin-3800 LP  
Dementia-2900 LP

"This concludes my turn." Dementia smirked, watching as Ronin instantly snapped the top card off his deck with her declaration. "Come on darling, lighten up. I'm only superior to you in every aspect of the word, why do you fight so hard to prove that you are better for me?"

"Because I am better than you, in every aspect of the word, and this magic card proves it. Go Hyrda Fusion!" Pulling out his deck, Ronin began to thumb through it looking for one specific card. "Hyrda Fusion allows me to fuse material monsters, one from my grave, the other one from my deck by removing them from play." Pulling out another yellow bordered card, Ronin showed it to Dementia before retrieving his Terrorking Salmon from his graveyard slot. "I fuse Terrorking Salmon and my Kaiser Bass (2400/1000) in order to summon out a monster known as King Death Fish (3000/2000)."

A large vortex formed in the water, causing a whirlpool to be created in the thin amount of water that still covered the field. From the center of the whirlpool a large, ghostly white fish jumped upwards. A ghastly white flame mane came out from the base of the head of the fish, whipping down the length of the body filled with pure white scales and pale brown fins. The head of the monster had no flesh, just the skull of the large fish.

"King Death Fish attack her Curse of Vampire now! Death Tidal Wave!" He cried, sending his large hovering fish towards the green haired vampire. Racing across the field, the dead fish charged in to devour the opposing monster within its massive jaw.

"Normally that would be a grand move, but not today darling." Dementia waved her hand to the face-down card that rested on her field. "This card is Vampiric Immortality. Negating the attack against one of my vampire monsters and then the difference in our attack points is taken out of your life points."

Ronin-3600 LP  
Dementia-2900 LP

"Think how much damage could have been dealt to you had your King Death Fish been a water type monster instead of a dark. Then your field would have pumped it up some more." Dementia smiled coldly at Ronin who was staring at the three cards he held in his hand.

"Alright, I'm done." He growled, lifting his head up to watch Dementia take her turn.

"Darling, this game is just getting fun, don't turn sour on me." Dementia smirked at Ronin's who's brow started to twitch with her constant comments. "I'll just draw this card." She smiled at what it was, sliding it into her duel disk. "Looks like I have drawn another equipment card for my Curse of Vampire. This one is called Spreading Vampirism Bite. This little number will increase the attack of my monster by 500 points, and give him the trademark of any good vampire."

Opening its jaw, the Curse of Vampire showed that his fangs were growing longer, trickles of blood dripping down from the gum line down the pearly white teeth to the tips. Closing its mouth, the vampire licked its lips, sneering coldly at the floating fish (3300/1300).

"Now my Curse of Vampire, attack his little fishy now." Dementia casually waved her arm in the air, sending the order to her monster to attack. Diving across the field, the blue armored monster bit down on the side of the fusion fish card. Cracking through the pure white scales, the vampire retracted his fangs and jumped back to Dementia's field. What shocked Ronin the most was that his King Death Fish was following behind the vampire, turning around and glaring down Ronin.

Ronin-3300 LP  
Dementia-2900 LP

"Yes, my equipment card spreads my monsters vampirism to your monster. By destroying it in battle, I get to bring it to my field, now as a zombie monster with half of its original attack points." (1500/2000) "Now, King Death Fish, attack your former master with your attack."

"Wrong…_darling…_I open my trap card." The set card on Ronin's field flipped up, beginning to glow with activation. "Call of the Haunted activates, reviving my Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness in attack mode (1800/1500) (2000/1700) to act as a wall between you and my life."

"Interesting darling." Dementia smirked as the dead fish floated back next to her vampire monster. "You're move triggered a replay, keeping your fish on my field. So I'll be setting one card on my field, ending this turn. Take it away darling." The brown backed card rippled into existence on her field behind Ronin's monster that was under her control.

"Then its my turn." Ronin placed his hand on his deck, slowly pulling the top card off his deck. _"Her vampire deck seems to be powerful, but not unbeatable. She's not as good as she claimed to be…unless."_ Ronin narrowed his eyes, looking up at the purple skinned lady who stood with her arms crossed as best as she could with the duel disk on her arm. _"She's holding back…"_

"Is something the mater darling?" Dementia smiled coldly at Ronin. "I am willing to accept your surrender if you're tiered of getting your ass handed to you. I mean, it can't be easy to be on the losing side of this whole duel."

"I will not surrender to you, bitch." Ronin pressed his fingers down on the top card of his deck harder, his fingers turning red with the pressure he was putting on them. Sliding the card off his deck, he snapped it through the air. "And I will win, watch! I sacrifice my Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness as the one tribute I need to summon out Levia-Dragon – Daedalus (2600/1500) (2800/1700).

"But isn't Daedalus a level seven monster?" Dementia cocked on of her eyebrows at Ronin who was pulling the two cards off his duel disk before slamming down his dragon monster. "That would require two tributes darling."

"Normally, yes." Ronin whipped his arm back to the large, stone city that rested behind him. "But thanks to this field magic card, the level of my Daedalus is lowered by one to six, making one tribute more than enough to summon him." And with that, from the thin layer of water on the chamber floor erupted a large blue serpent monster with a light purple underbelly. It glared around the field with its four eyes that rested under a natural built in scaled helmet on its skull with an emerald green gem embedded into it. A blood red fin traced its way down the length of the serpent.

"Yes." Reku clenched his right hand into a fist and yanked his arm back by his side with the summoning of Ronin's best monster. "With the field like it is, Ronin is in a good spot to deal so major damage to Dementia." His arm rested, his joy quickly shifted to anger. "But Dementia doesn't seem worried."

Akina and Order stared at Reku for a second before they shifted their attention back to the duel where Ronin was announcing his next move.

"By sacrificing my Legendary Ocean, which counts as the magic card Umi, I can use Daedalus's special power to destroy all cards on the field except itself." Ronin pulled the field magic card out of his duel disk slot that had opened up while he was talking. "Go Daedalus, wipe the field clean!"

"Hmm." Dementia narrowed her own eyes as the large serpent began to roar, a rush of power beginning to separate the water that was lying on the floor of the room. A red lining running around the sides of the waves begin generated by the power in the serpent. Crashing outwards, the wave swallowed everything on her field. Crashing on the gold tiled floor, the only thing that was left was Dementia standing there unaffected by the wave.

"Daedalus attack!" Ronin continued to roar, sending his large serpent across the field in a flying rage. "Torrent Rage!" Reaching the other end of the field, the serpent smacked its head into Dementia sending her flying backwards into the gold tiled floor.

Ronin-3600 LP  
Dementia-300 LP

"That is my turn." Ronin smirked, watching his dragon sliding back to his field. Dementia was slowly pulling herself up from her spot on the floor.

"Alright Dementia." Freyr began to speak as the vampiress made her way up off the ground, brushing off her cape. "That is enough fun. I grow weary of watching this human try his hardest. It's pathetic."

"Yes Lord Freyr." Dementia turned, bowing slightly to her master before turning back to Ronin. "Well darling, my master has grown bored with the show. I'm sorry that the best you had wasn't enough to impress him, I've had a wonderful time torturing you. But all good things must come to an end.

She drew her card casually, sliding it into her duel disk instantly.

"Pot of Greed lets me draw two new cards from my deck." Sliding two more cards from her deck, she inserted another one of the cards she pulled into her duel disk. "And the magic card Book of Life." Pulling out the stack of cards her graveyard ejected. "This card allows me to special summon back from my grave one zombie monster, and also remove a monster from your grave. I'll have you get rid of your King Death Fish so I can bring back my Curse of Vampire (2000/800)."

Dementia's blue armored monster reappeared on her field, smirking darkly as it reappeared.

"This magic card is known as Double Attack. By discarding one monster, I chose one on my field whose level is lower than it and grant it the power to strike twice in one turn." Pulling one of the two cards that still rested in her hand out she flipped it around to reveal a level eight monster. "I discard Vampire Genesis (3000/2100), a level eight monster, to give my level six Curse of Vampire the power to strike twice in this turn."

"So now you can attack twice…" Ronin was less than amused, but was still rather confused. "What good is that going to do you here? My Daedalus is still 600 points stronger than your vampire. And with only one card in your hand, I doubt there is much you could do."

"Darling." Dementia bowed her head, giggling slightly. "You underestimate me far too much." With that, she slid the last card into her duel disk. "This card will finish the game. Coercive Magic Eyes activates and effects an undead type monster with 2000 attack points or less, allowing it to attack you directly on this turn." Her head jerked up, a dark smirk on her face. "Well, this game was fun. Curse of Vampire finish!"

Rushing across the field, the blue armored vampire swiftly made his way to the water duelist, sinking his fangs deep into Ronin's neck. Screaming in pain, Ronin dropped to the ground instantly, his duel disk making a loud clanking sound as it connected with the golden tiled floor.

Ronin-0 LP  
Dementia-300 LP

"Attacking twice with 2000 attack dealt you 4000 points of damage, showing that you don't have the power needed to stop me." Dementia turned, her duel disk folding back up on her arm. She walked back to the two male demons that stood behind her. Bowing slightly to Freyr, she moved to his side and stood their quietly.

Akina, in a flash, was by Ronin's side helping him to sit up. His eyes were shadowed, clouded over. He shook his head, his right hand resting on his forehead.

"You ok Ronin?" She asked. He was unable to answer for a second, his head pounding and swimming.

"Y…yeah." He shook his head again, trying to force his eyes to come into focus again. "I'll be fine, just took a little too hard of a hit."

"If you think that hit was hard, you'll never survive us at full power." Freyr smirked, stepping forward. His footfalls echoing on the golden walls of the chamber. "You mere humans could never stand a chance against me or either of my minions alone. Your friend there proved that fighting your hardest won't give you victory in this kind of a fight." Stopping when Reku stepped around in front of Akina and Ronin, who was still sitting on the floor. "And yet you still wish to try…"

"Damn right." Reku whipped his arms out to shield his friends behind him. "No matter how powerful you are, I refuse to move and let you just hurt anyone you desire. Now get your ugly ass out of here and never come back."

"No doing." Freyr shook his head. "I have come to claim the crystal that the princess abused to gain infantine power. I refuse to let that evil befall this land again. Just give me the crystal and I'll gladly leave here and never return."

"You won't get your hands on it." Reku stood tall, his arms still out to his sides as far as they would go. Fingers outstretched and his palms facing towards Freyr. "I won't let your brand of evil to ever lay a hand on it. Haven't you got it yet? You'll be leaving here empty handed, as there is nothing here belonging to you."

Over his shoulder, Reku could see that Akina had helped Ronin to his feet. Though his legs were wobbly at first and he threatened to fall once again, he did regain his balance though. Reku was relived to know his friend was alright, bringing his gaze back to face the red skinned demon that stood before him.

Thoth stepped forward, still a few feet behind his master, and bowed his head and abdomen slightly. "Master, wish I should take care of this insignificant pest that stands in your way?" He looked up to see what kind of reaction he was going to receive from his master. To his surprise, Freyr turned and began to walk slowly back towards him and Dementia.

"No Thoth, I think we'll play the funny little humans game for the time being." Freyr stopped and placed his hand on Thoth's shoulder. "Soon enough though, you'll get your chance. Until that time, we'll let the fools continue to play this game of thinking they are superior to us. That way…" He glared over his shoulder at the group of people standing across the room from him. "…when we crush them, they will be twice as humiliated."

With that, a pillar of blood red fire engulfed the three demons that stood at the far end of the golden room, swallowing up their shadows and leaving nothing but charred black circles on the floor where the three of them stood not but moments before.

"And next time he'll show up with more of his power awakened." A new male voice echoed across the chamber. Reku and Akina snapped their heads instantly towards the doorway of the golden room. Ronin was a lot more sluggish, taking about three times as long to lift his head up so he could look towards the door. There, stood a figure robed in a raven black cloak covering all his features but his hands, which were concealed by a pair of black gloves. "If you thought he was bad now, just wait."

Reku's eyes dropped towards the floor, his thoughts darting around his skull. Lifting his head again, he stared as the black robed figure with curious brown eyes. "So wait, who are you?"

* * *

"This shall be a prime spot." Freyr's voice was that of a person picking out a new house. Scoping out the stone walls with graffiti pictures painted all over them, he slowly traced his way down to stair well into the blackness beyond. "This shall be our base of operation for the moment being."

The three beasts entered into a dusty light of a large square room. Dirt floated through the air, the murky feeling adding to the fact that this run down place hadn't been in good repair for a long time. Though run down, not uninhabited. Against the walls sat humans dressed in rags pretty much. These homeless folk all jerked up at their new guests. Most of them started to panic, running towards the stair well and out of the unused subway station.

"That is right humans; your palace is being put under my ownership now. Remove yourselves from my presence this instant." Freyr shouted, his gruff voice clearing out the entire station of people, save three people who were slowly walking towards the three horrid looking monsters. "What do you think your doing?"

"You're not human are you?" One of the three, the obvious leader of the three, spoke to Freyr. He looked as if he belonged in the army with his square toped haircut of black hair, a dark green tank top revealing a pair of pumped up arms. Brown cargo pants and a pair of black boots that would be really nice if they weren't torn in several spots and dusty.

To his right stood a smaller man, but still a rather large built man muscle wise. His blue hair wasn't as neatly kept as the center figure, looking like he had just climbed out of bed and not washing it for a few weeks if not months.

On his other side stood a tall, skinny man with brown spiky hair on top. A light gray shirt with a brown vest and a pair of torn and ripped blue jeans made up his attire. He looked rather frail and weak standing next to the two muscular built men, even if he stood taller than the two of them.

"Do we look human to you darling?" Dementia cocked an eyebrow at the rebellious humans standing before them. "Though its obvious that you have no brains in those thick skulls of yours or you'd know to be running right about now."

"I think, if you're staying here in the human world, you'll need some kind of guides to help you on your way around." The center figure bowed slightly to Freyr, who was the obvious boss of the creatures standing before them. "Besides, I used to work for a man who was seeking an incredible power source. I'm sure you'd love to add that power to yours."

"There is only one thing I desire." Freyr spoke, stepping towards the center human and wrapping his red claws around his throat. "And I don't need any humans in my way whilst I retrieve it. I'm sure it will provide me with far superior power than whatever stupid contraption you'd offer me."

"Not true." The thin, tall man spoke up, standing still even though Freyr was threatening to rip the center man's throat out.

"This power fell from the sky, tens of thousands of years ago." The second man spoke up. Freyr looked down at the man who he held in his grip. His head was nodding, though he could not speak.

"You know of the crystal as well…" Freyr let go of the center figure. He stumbled back slightly but stood tall once again after gaining his breath back in a few intakes. "What do you know that I don't know?"

"I see that you seem to know the same things we do." The center figure looked at his two allies who nodded back. "But, we also know very well the brats who are going to try and get in your way if you are seeking the crystal."

"Brats?" Thoth spoke for the first time, his deep voice scaring the three humans slightly with the suddenness of it. "Are you speaking of two male humans and a female. Both males with black hair, about the same size and the female smaller with sand colored hair."

"Well, if you only know three, than you don't know much." The center figured placed his fingers on his chin. "By chance, did you catch their names?"

"I believe the one I faced in monster combat went by the name of 'Ronin'." Dementia spoke up again, drawing the humans' attention back towards her. "Though he was not much of an obstacle. How many more of them could there possibly be?"

"They seem to multiply like damn rabbits." The smaller man spoke up from behind the main leader.

"Ronin huh?" The center figure nodded, ignoring his comrade's comment. "I'll bet the other two were Reku Yamashita and his bitch; Akina Oshiro." Looking up, he saw Freyr looking down at him with interest burning in all three of his red eyes. "If you want, we can offer our advice and help to you. We know these 'chosen ones' better than you seem to, but we are willing to serve you." And with that, the three humans began to bow before Freyr.

"Very well, I've heard enough. You can serve me on a trial basis alone. I do not tolerate failure, and just realize how lucky you are to be allowed this opportunity. Now speak unto me your names." Freyr motioned for them to rise with his hand. Once they did, the center figure spoke up again.

"This man's name is Archip." He said, motioning to the tall skinny man off to his left. Pointing to the man at his right he continued to speak. "This is Hygin." Bringing his arms back and placing them on his chest he looked proud that it was his turn. "And my name is Tal."

* * *

The punching bag recoiled as a fist in a red glove slammed into its face again. The other hand, also gloved, slammed into the surface of the returning punching bag sending it flying backwards yet again.

The man who was punching the bag finally stopped, walking away from the swinging target. Within moments, the two red gloves were removed from his hands and dropped on a bench outside of a door that had a picture of a blue stick figure on it, indicating the men's' locker room.

The man was relatively decent sized, and physically in shape, but no were near considered buff. He was wearing a gray, loose fitting tank top which was drenched with sweat, and a pair of gray and white stripped shorts. His dull brown hair was soaking wet with sweat as well. Stripping down, the man climbed into the shower. His body was relived to feel the clean water rushing over his body.

Ryokurio Itakura stepped out of the gym's shower a few moments later, grabbing a towel off a nearby rack and drying off his hair. He then proceeded to wrap the towel around his waist and move across the locker room to his basket where his clothing rested. He quickly dried off and got dressed, stepping out of the locker room and exiting the gym.

He wanted to have one last work out before he left on his trip. He was soon to visit his sister at her house for a few weeks and doubted that she would give him five minutes in the gym. She was so hyperactive that she'd have him running around with her somewhere.

Since she had come of age and moved out on her own, she didn't get to see her big brother all that often, so she would be especially excited to see him this time. He pulled the collar on his black shirt to straiten it out as he walked. His pulled at his waist bands on his pants to make sure they were also strait.

Reaching into his pocket, he soon emerged with a set of keys with a black device also attached to the keychain. Pressing a button on the device, a pewter colored truck in front of him flashed its lights indicating that it was now unlocked. Hopping in the truck, he adjusted the rear-view mirror to look at his face first, smiling, then moving it so he could see out behind him.

"Well then, I'm off." He said to himself, placing the key in the ignition and turning it. The truck rushed to life instantly. He soon pulled away from the curb and was off towards his sister's house.

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

Curse of Vampire  
2000/800/6/Undead/Dark  
When this card is destroyed during battle, you can pay 500 Life Points and special summon it onto the field during the next Standby Phase. When successfully summoned in this manner, increase it's ATK by 500.

Ronin: "Dammit all, this is the stupid card that beat me. But instead of me going on about how much I hate it now, lets focus on the pluses of it. A one tribute, 2000 attack point monster isn't so bad. Comes with a lot of Dark and Zombie style support. Plus, when he's destroyed in battle, he'll come back 500 points stronger at a cost of 500 life points. Not to bad really. But that is about all the nice things I'm going to say about it…"

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	4. Element Master Returns Pt 1

Episode 4: Element Master Returns Pt 1

Stopping again by a window that rested in a long hallway, Kiro turned his gaze outwards to the world viewed beyond the glass pane. The only thing in sight was the large house that stood next door to his, the house that now belonged to his new neighbors; Reku Yamashita and Akina Oshiro.

"Dammit." He cursed under his breath, walking away from the window and continued down the hallway until he came to the end where it turned into a doorway into another room of his house. Stopping, he glanced back over his shoulder at the window. "What is bothering my senses so bad? What keeps drawing me towards that house, to those people? They aren't anything special."

He hated that he was lying to himself. There was something special about them, even Ronin, and it wasn't because they had their names on a few tournament rosters in the past. No, this was something different about them spiritually. Kiro had never felt this kind of odd feeling about anyone else in the world.

Readjusting the black glasses concealing his eyes he power walked back down the hallway to where he had come from. Rushing through his opening hallway to his front door, he grabbed the white wrist gadget that rested on a stand by the front door and barreled out side, slamming the door behind him.

He quickly closed the gap between his front door and his neighbor's front door, pounding on it with the bottom of his closed fist.

"Come one, answer your door." Kiro continued to pound on the door. "I have to get my questions answered or it will drive me nuts. OPEN YOUR DAMN DOOR!" Kiro screamed, adjusting his fist so he was actually punching the door. Not hard enough to break it, but enough so that they couldn't ignore him.

Still no answer.

"I know you're in there, you have not left your house!" Kiro could feel that they hadn't left because he felt their auras still in the house and not moving away from it, that, and all the vehicles were still parked out front.

* * *

The robed figure slowly walked across the golden chamber, stopping before the group of people. The hood moved with his head as he examined each and every one of the people standing there. His main focus was on Reku who seemed to be guarding Akina and the still shaky Ronin from this stranger. 

"I mean you no harm." The robed figure spoke, his crackly voice calm and comforting. "I will do nothing to harm you, you have my word on that."

"They why haven't you introduced yourself yet?" Reku growled, taking a step backwards. "I asked you, who are you?"

"I cannot answer, because I do not have a name." The figure placed his gloved hand on his forehead, pulling the hood back to reveal a human head. A mat of sandy blond hair folded out as the cloth was removed. A pair of brown eyes with swirling color in his iris stared back at Reku. "Though in one life of this body, I will assume the name Deruku."

"Deruku?" Akina questioned, still bracing a wobbling Ronin with her arms. "But wait, why are you here?"

"Deruku is an old friend of mine." Order finally spoke, walking up to Reku and placing a delicate hand on his shoulder. "He is on our side; there is no reason for hostile behavior here." Bowing her head, her eyes fixated on one of the golden tiles laid about on the floor. "Though you can't be blamed, now more than ever, you cannot trust a single person. Freyr is aware of your existence, and if you stand in his way than you'll be removed."

"Who…is this guy…Freyr?" Ronin growled, still weakened. He was leaning on Akina for support still, his eyes not yet fully adjusted back into the light. _"What the hell is the matter with me? That attack seemed to have hurt worse than normal dueling."_

"Freyr is an ancient demon who was locked in the war that was started over this crystal that rests in the basement of this very facility." Deruku continued, sitting down on the golden throne. "He, along with his two subordinates; Dementia and Thoth, they intend to strip the crystal out of here for god only knows what purpose." Interlocking his gloved fingers, Deruku rested his chin on the bridge they made. "But it is probably for his own sick and twisted plans."

"Probably the same plan we've heard so many times before." Reku growled. "Chaos and Chime both had the same sick and twisted plan for using that crystals power. I'll bet that Freyr has the same idea."

"And I'll bet you that you are wrong." Deruku snapped back, lifting his head. "That kind of thing seems far too trivial for him. But, that still doesn't even give us a slight clue as to what he really is after."

"Think we'll need help?" Akina asked, brining everyone's attention to her. "Call in some of our other friends to help us fight. From the looks of things," Akina's eyes darted over to Ronin who still looked pale and was staggering a bit, "things aren't going to be getting any easier for us."

"Allies are good." Deruku nodded. "We already have informed our own reinforcements of the situation, but I fear that this isn't going to be an idol war like would make it easier on us." Order walked over to Deruku, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Freyr will attack from all sides, I am sure of it."

"Trust me though." Order looked up at the three crystal holders. "These three have come through a lot together. They also have good allies to fall back on when they need some help." Nodding to Akina, Order continued to speak. "Yes, go gather some reinforcements, I fear this will be far worse then any of us expect at this point."

"Right." Akina and Reku nodded, turning to their still weakened friend.

"I'll send you back home." Order walked forward slightly, raising her hands so her palms were directed towards the three of them. "We'll keep in very close contact, informing you guys of what we know, and what kind of plans we may come up with."

"Likewise." Reku nodded, stepping back so he was even with Akina and Ronin. In that instant, a pillar of white light engulfed the three of them, blasting up towards the ceiling and they were gone.

* * *

"According to the phone book, this is Mr. Yamashita's and Miss Oshiro's new place of residence." Archip smirked, looking at a small piece of paper he held in his hand. Looking up, the gazed upon the small white colored house. Standing at the front door was Kiro, still pounding on the door. 

"Appears as if we aren't the only ones trying to find them." Hygin smirked. The two of them began to advance upon the house. On their arms, Kaiba corp. standard duel disks rested. They had come to remove Reku and Akina from Freyr's way.

The new people instantly caught the attention of Kiro, who stopped his pounding on the door. "So what business do you bring to this house hold?" He asked, stopping Hygin and Archip dead in their tracks on the front lawn. "You have brought malice to this place. You have the intent to do harm and hatred here. Am I even warm?" Kiro shifted his head, staring at the two new people standing there awestruck. He smirked darkly at the two of them, his eyes still concealed behind the glasses, but they still were filled with pride of scaring the two humans.

"And who are you?" Hygin growled, stepping forward. "You seem to know a lot about our purpose at this house." His duel disk began to hum to life, snapping into place on his arm. "If you dare stand in our way as well, we'll have no choice but to remove you."

"I can smell it on you." Kiro growled, stepping off the stone steps on to the ground below. Shifting the glasses on his face, he continued to stare at them.

"What are you, some kind of dog?" Archip smirked at his own humor. Even Hygin gave a chuckle.

"Nope." Kiro growled stepping forward slightly. "You just stink."

"Why you…" Hygin growled, lifting his arm up in a defensive manner.

Reku, Akina and Ronin all appeared once again in the bedroom of the new house. Seconds after the light faded, Ronin began to collapse again, falling back onto the bed. Reku grabbed him, bracing his fall so he wouldn't slide off the side of the bed onto the floor.

"I'll put Ronin up here on the bed and let him rest for a while." Reku said, dragging his friend up onto the bed. "You go and find our address book and start to contact people. We are pressed for time I'm afraid."

"Right." Akina nodded, turned and walked out of the room. She started her walk through the house, trying to remember where they had put their address books. Now, more than ever, she hated that fact that she couldn't remember where they had put everything.

Standing in the living room of the house, she looked around her. Where could she have put it? Walking over to the table where the house phone sat, she pulled open one of the small drawers, revealing a neat stack of papers and a few pens, but no address book. Narrowing her eyes, she shut the drawer and opened another one. Still no address book.

Sighing, she pushed her self up and began to walk back towards the bedroom, passing by their front window on her way. Something caught her eye, forcing her to stop and stare dumbly out of the window at the scene unfolding on her front lawn.

"Hygin….Archip." She suddenly grew angry, flying towards the front door and ripping it open. She burst through it and down the stone steps in a few bounds.

"_So, someone was home."_ Kiro growled at the sudden appearance of the female behind him. Panting hard, she walked past Kiro and glared at the two men that opposed her on the lawn.

"What are you two doing here?" She angrily asked, driving out more malice in her voice than typical of the sweet lady.

"Oh Akina." Archip placed his hand on his brow and shook his head disappointedly. "I figured after all this time we'd be getting a warmer welcome from you. I mean, after the time we had not but five years ago, I would think that there would be no way to forget about us."

"Be quiet." Akina narrowed her brow. "This is a really bad time for you to show up. Just leave here."

"Bad time you say?' Hygin cocked an eyebrow, getting a jerking nod out of Akina; 'yes'. He smirked, pleased with the answer. "Good, that'll just make it all the more easy for us to remove you from Lord Freyr's way."

"Freyr…" Akina's anger filled eyes turned to scared ones, widening at the name. She suddenly became panicked, taking a few steps backwards. "How…when…what…"

"_Freyr?"_ Kiro's eyes darted back and forth from Hygin and Archip to Akina. _"What the hell does that mean?"_

"He's enlisted us as his front men to take out all that stands in his way." Hygin held up his duel disk. "That means you Akina and your boyfriend too. Now prepare to duel."

"But, when you both lost at the last tournament." Akina was still taking small, slow steps backwards. "The Seal of Orichalcos should have sealed away your souls."

"_Seal of Orichalcos… Souls…"_ Kiro's eyes rested on Akina. From the moment he had met her and Reku, as well as Ronin, he could tell there was something different about them. They were special; they seemed to have been through something that was quite farfetched to anyone…anyone but him.

"Well, funny story on that." Archip let his arms drape back down to his side. "When Chime lost in the final match, the container that she had been using to seal the souls away in shattered and let the souls out. Those souls tainted with the Orichalcos weren't instantly returned to their former bodies right away for some reason. Like some divine punishment inflicted upon us.

"Wondering in the vastness of space for months, we were finally returned to our bodies that lay in the hospital. When we awoke Chime was already gone. Me and Hygin busted out of that place, and have been living underground ever since."

"Enough chit-chat." Hygin held up his duel disk, slamming his shuffled deck into the slot. "I think it's about time to beat you, and remove you from Lord Freyr's way." Pointing his right hand towards Akina once it let go of his stack of cards, he smirked. "Prepare yourself."

"Fine." Akina growled, he duel disk on her arm snapping into place. Lights traced their way down the joints of the machine, a light humming sound was made indicating that the device was ready for play. From her pocket she emerged with a stack of brown backed cards, sliding them into her duel disk, she was prepared to play. "Ready then?"

"Of course." He smirked, sliding the top five cards off his deck and fanning them out in front of his face.

"So will you be relying on the power of the Seal of Orichalcos again?" Akina growled, sliding her opening hand off her deck as well.

"Nope." Hygin placed his fingers on the top card of his deck. "The Seal's seemed to have vanished from both of our decks, we no longer have them. But that doesn't mean that we are any weaker. I start!"

Akina-4000 LP  
Hygin-4000 LP

"Draw!" He shouted, snapping the top card from his deck and whipping it through the air. It was quickly added to his hand. "I'll start with a simple monster in attack mode; come forth Element Magician (1500/1200)!" A woman monster with flowing purple hair appeared on the field. She was wearing a decorative outfit of lime green and white, covering most of her body. Between her gloved hands, a ball constructed of multi-colored ruins. "And end my turn by setting this one card face down." Hygin continued, sliding one of the other cards in his hand into his duel disk. The card appeared behind his female monster.

"_If I remember that card correctly."_ Akina bit her lip as she placed her finger tips on the top card of her deck. _"It'll gain special powers if monsters of certain attributes are present on the field. I just can't remember which attributes it was."_ Growling, she slid the top card off her deck and glared at its face. She quickly moved it towards her duel disk. "I draw, and then I summon Swordsman of Landstar in defense mode (500/1200)."

A small, peach faced young warrior appeared over its yellow bordered card. I held its little sword over its body to protect itself, as well as a small brown shield bearing its very own face on it. The monster looked more like it belonged in a toy box than on the dueling field.

"I'll set these two cards." Akina continued without hesitation, sliding two more cards into her duel disk. They appeared behind the crouching warrior with a flash of yellow and white light. "That is my turn."

"Pathetic turn." Hygin smirked, taunting Akina's weak monster. "Draw!" He yelled, sliding the top card off his deck and placing it into his hand quickly. "Now then, I'll show you the true power of my deck. Go magic card, Scroll of Bewitchment! This will change my Element Magician to any attribute I chose." He sneered at Akina as the green bordered card appeared on the field behind his purple haired woman. "And I chose wind."

"What good will that do…" Akina's voice trialed off as she thought about what Hygin was doing. _"Wind must be one of the types that affects Element Magician."_ Her eyes began to widen as the green dressed monster began to shoot a pillar of wind up from the ground around it.

"When a monster of the wind variant exists on the field, my Magician is able to attack once more after destroying a monster in battle. But…" Holding up another card from his hand, Hygin lowered his head into a sneer. "That isn't all I have planned for you. Magic card go! Spirit Scroll of Air!"

"Spirit Scroll of Air?" Akina's eyes widened as a large, lime green colored scroll appeared on the field, floating in mid-air inches from the magician. Slowly, the scroll started to unwind itself, showing green glowing ruin scribbled on the parchment.

"This card allows me to summon out one of these." Hygin smirked, pointing towards the piece of paper. Instantly it started to produce a small, lime green, glowing sphere of light. A slow moving tornado of gray colored wind circled about its small being. "This is a Spirit Air Token (?). As long as it's on the field, its attack and defense increase by 500 points for each monster that is a wind type on the field. That is itself and my Element Magician at the moment (1000/1000)."

* * *

"Kiro!" Kaira called from inside Kiro's house. Opening the door to the living room, she slowly walked in and looked around the rectangular room. "Now where did he go? I thought he was only going to step out for a second." She placed her hands on her hips as she looked around. "Maybe he is still outside." 

With that thought, she moved towards the front door, pulling it open and sticking her head out. The first thing she noticed was the duel happening just next door. Her eyes focused on the competitors; a guy she didn't recognize and Akina. Running out of the house, she quickly made her way across the lawn to where Kiro stood watching the duel.

"What is going on?" She asked, drawing Akina's and Hygin's attention to the newcomer.

"Just a little pest control." Hygin smirked, snapping his arm back to Akina. "Element Magician attack!" Cupping her hands, the green dressed magician prepared to launch a ball of condensed ruins at the toy soldier.

"Your attack will trigger this trap." Akina waved her arm across her body, one of her two set cards flipping up to reveal a purple bordered card. From the card image, strings of green light shot out, wrapping themselves around the magicians body, immobilizing her. "Gravity Bind!" Akina announced as the card took effect. "While this card remains on my field, no monster of level 4 or higher may attack."

"_Oshiro Akina. She runs a low level deck that forces the opponent to play on a slightly different level. She has changed her tactics in the past, but kept the same basic idea time and again."_ Kiro observed as the trap that was hindering all high level monsters appeared on her field.

"Fine, you win this round." Hygin narrowed his eyes at the trap card. His Spirit Air Token wasn't strong enough to get past the Swordsman of Landstar's 1200 defense points. "Your move."

"Draw." She slid the next card off her deck, keeping as calm as possible. She added it to her hand to use later. Grabbing one of the other cards in her hand and placing it on a free monster card zone. "I summon out Sonic Duck (1700/700) in attack mode."

A small, green duck monster appeared on the field next to Akina's toy solider looking card. Around the ducks neck there was played a red scarf that whipped out behind the body of the fowl. On top of its head there rested a bucket serving as a helmet.

"That was foolish." Hygin smirked pointing to the floating green orb. "Sonic Duck is a creature of wind, giving my Spirit Air Token 500 more points (1500/1500)." He lowered his arm to his side again. "All you did was help me out."

"Won't help you for long." Akina lowered her head. "Sonic Duck, attack his Element Magician now!"

"Falling into my trap." Hygin protested, pointing towards the set card. "It's time for my continuous trap card to hinder you. Elemental Absorber activates!" Hygin's set card flipped up, showering the field in a rain of small lighting bolts. The Sonic Duck was struck by one of the bolts of lighting, crating a high voltage rope, binding the monster.

"What?" Akina watched as her duck was brought to its knees by the binding electrical currents. "What did you do to my monster?" She quickly snapped her attention back to Hygin who was just standing there, grinning dumbly.

"Elemental Absorber activated, allowing me to remove one monster from my hand to stop all of your attacks from the monster of that type." Hygin flipped over one of the cards in his hand. "I chose to remove this, my Wynn the Wind Charmer (500/1500). A monster of Wind."

"Stopping my duck because he is a wind monster." Akina's eyes dropped to her duel disk where the yellow bordered card rested, her eyes fixating on the green circle that rested in the corner of the monster. _"At least my deck doesn't focus on one solid type of monster, or this duel might have turned out really bad for me."_ She looked up, her eyes concealing the slight amount of joy that was building. _"I still have a chance, even if my wind monsters are completely shut down."_ Glancing down at her hand cards quickly, she nodded to Hygin. "Your turn then."

"About time." Smirking, he slid the top card off his deck and placed it in his growing hand cards. "My next monster I summon is Element Dragon, come forth in attack mode! (1500/1200)"

A large, pinkish skinned dragon monster appeared on the field next to the magician already inhabiting the field. Unfolding its large, green wings, a small tornado of wind began to form around him before the green strings shot out of Akina's trap card and bound the dragon monster.

"Element Dragon gains the same power from wind monsters that my Magician gains." Hygin explained before sliding another card from his hand into his duel disk. "Though as a level four monster he is held down by your Gravity Bind trap. So instead I'll just play; Spirit Scroll of Fire!"

Just like with his previous scroll, this one produced a small glowing orb, this one was burning red in color. Light gray smoke swirled around the outside of the small orb as it floated on the field next to its green colored companion.

"My Spirit Fire Token gains 500 points for having itself on the field." Hygin explained, his little orb growing stronger (500/500). "And my Element Dragon grows in power as well. You see, when there is a fire attribute monster on the field, he gains an additional 500 attack points (2000/1200)."

The pink colored dragon began to roar as small, red embers began to lick off the ground by the dragon's feet, swirling in the slight tornado that had formed around him already.

"_He still is useless to attack with. What could he be planning?"_ Akina narrowed her eyes as she looked at the four monsters that opposed her; a large dragon, a purple haired girl, and two floating orbs of energy, one lime green, and the other bright red.

"Spirit Air Token attack! Destroy her Swordsman of Landstar this instance!" Hygin ordered, his lime green ball of energy obeying, releasing a massive tornado from around its smooth surface. Rushing across the field, the tornado surrounded the small warrior, crushing it under the intense pressure of the air. "Since my tokens are considered to be a level two monster, they can attack under your Gravity Bind." Hygin smirked as Akina slid the card into her graveyard slot. "This, of course, ends my turn."

"Right." Akina nodded, looking down at her own deck of cards. _"There must be something I can do, but what?"_ Looking up, she examined the field that was placed before her. Her monster was unable to attack due to the effect of Elemental Absorber, and it was also powering up Hygin's Spirit Air Token. A super charged Element Dragon and Element Magician, as well as a Spirit Fire Token. _"What can I do to weaken his offensive advantage?" _

Kiro also lowered his head, staring directly at Akina. _"What kind of cards do you have in that deck that can get you out of this mess?"_ His eyes filled with wonder as he watched Akina slowly pull the top card off her deck. _"With the style of deck you run, you have to have some kind of contingency plan for being over powered like this."_

"I have drawn the magic card Giant Trunade! This card lets me return all magic and trap cards on the field to their owner's hands." Her set card flipped up and began to glow in a bright white light before vanishing from her field. "This triggers my trap card; Insurance. Because it is being returned to my hand from my field, I get an additional 500 life points."

Akina-4500 LP  
Hygin-4000 LP

Hygin's cheerful expression turned dark as he pulled his two cards from their place in his duel disk. Looking up, he watched his Element Magician lose the small twister of wind that had formed around it due to his Scroll of Bewitchment. This, in return, made his Spirit Air Token weaker (1000/1000). Also, without his trap card on the field, Akina's green duck was released from its electrical bindings.

"Here we go." She smirked, slamming one of the other cards in her hand onto the duel disk. "I summon out Jerry Bean Man (1750/0) in attack mode!" The card was read instantly by the green duel disk, producing the card hologram on the field before her. From it, a yellow bean-shaped man appeared wielding a small sword and flimsy shield.

"_A high attack power level three monster."_ Hygin narrowed his brow at the small warrior that now stood against him. _"Interesting."_

"Jerry Bean Man attacks your Spirit Fire Token!" Akina announced, her bean solider monster crossing the field in a few mere bounds. Snapping its stringy arms back, the monster brought its sword crashing into the red orb. The collision of metal against the small monster caused it to erupt in its own flames, shattering seconds afterwards.

Akina-4500 LP  
Hygin-2750 LP

(Element Dragon 1500/1200)

"And Sonic Duck attacks your Spirit Air Token!" Akina continued her attack orders, snapping her arm towards the other floating orb. Her duck monster lowered its head, vanishing into thin air with a flash. Racing across the field, a blur of green could be seen followed by some feathers floating towards the ground. Ramming into the side of the monster, the duck became visible, bouncing back to Akina's field, while Hygin's monster shattered just likes it brethren.

Akina-4500 LP  
Hygin-2050 LP

"I'll end my turn there by setting these cards." Akina smirked, sliding two cards into her duel disk again. Behind her two monsters appeared the brown backed cards.

"Gravity Bind and Insurance again." Hygin placed his hand on his deck as he spoke. "It's pretty pathetic to even try and set things like that when I know they are coming. It's my turn, draw!" Snapping the card off his deck, he whipped it through the air so it could be seen by Akina and the two spectators. "The magic card; Pot of Greed allows me to draw two more cards from my deck." He quickly snapped the next two cards from his deck. "Then I set these two cards on my field, this ends my turn."

Akina watched astonished as the two brown backed cards rippled into existence behind his two monsters. _"I figured he'd either go on the defensive or do something a bit more impressive than that. If he would have replayed Scroll of Bewitchment he could have changed a monster to a fire type, increasing his Element Dragon's power. That way he could have gone on the offensive. Even knowing my set card is Gravity Bind shouldn't have stopped him from at least creating an offensive wall to block me."_ Her eyes quickly darted between her set two cards and the duo of cards set one Hygin's field.

"Going to make a move or what?" Hygin cocked an eyebrow at Akina who seemed to be studying the field far more than he would have expected. _"My move threw her off slightly I think."_

"I am. Draw!" She cried out, snapping the top card from her deck and glancing at its face before adding it to her hand. Lifting her head, she made one last mental note of how the field looked. "Alright, Sonic Duck attack the Element Magician now!" She watched as her duck again vanished, charging towards the purple haired monster at super-sonic speeds. Smashing into the chest of the monster, the duck buried the tin can that rested on its head deep into the skin of the monster, causing her to cry out in pain.

Akina-4500 LP  
Hygin-1850 LP

"Jerry Bean Man, attack Element Dragon next!" Akina announced, more confident than she was before. Once her Sonic Duck landed on her field, he bean-man warrior charged forward, slashing its swords down across the torso of the pink skinned dragon, causing it to explode into data bits.

Akina-4500 LP  
Hygin-1600 LP

"_Two set cards and he couldn't use either to stop me!"_ Akina was surprised at the lack of resistance from Hygin. She was sure that one of those cards was Elemental Absorber again, unless he didn't have a monster of either wind or earth, Jerry Bean Man's attribute, in his hand to discard. She glared at Hygin, who was just standing on his side of the field with a smirk on his face, waiting patiently for Akina to end her turn so he could begin his. "I end my turn there."

"Good." Hygin moved, sliding the top card off his deck and staring at the face. "Perfect, I have finally drawn all the pieces I need. The first of which is in the form of a magic card; Doriado's Blessing. By sacrificing my Element Doom (1500/1200) I am able to special summon out Elemental Mistress Doriado (1200/1400)."

A lovely blond haired woman wearing a red head piece appeared on Hygin's field. She was kneeling down on her blue bordered card, her lovely white dress stretching with the awkward position she was kneeling in. Clapping her hands together, locking the fingers, she appeared to be praying. Her hair rippled down the side of her soft cheek, landing on a blue set of shoulder pads.

"This ends my turn." Hygin smirked, looking at the one card in his hand; Scroll of Bewitchment. Looking up, Akina shrank back with the chicken-shit grin Hygin was giving off.

"I draw then." Akina slid her next card off her deck, her eyes avoiding Hygin's face. It suddenly was creeping her out. She didn't have much in her hand, so she was just going to have to work with what she had on the field already. "Sonic Duck attacks your Elemental Mistress! Sonic Smash!"

"Falling into my trap." Hygin smirked, waving his hand over his set cards. One of them flipped up, glowing brightly. "This trap is known as Fuh-Rin-Ka-Zan, and while I have a monster of earth, wind, fire, and water face up on my field I get to choose a variety of effects." Holding up his duel disk, he made sure Akina, as well as Kiro and Kaira, could see Elemental Mistress Doriado. "My monster has the power to be all those attributes at once, allowing my trap card to work."

"No way!" Akina's eyes widened at how the hard to work with card suddenly became worlds easier to Hygin.

"I chose the effect of my Fuh-Rin-Ka-Zan to destroy all monsters on your side of the field." Hygin's trap began to shoot out beams of light with the order, piercing through the green duck and the yellow bean-man. Causing them to self destruct and send smoke rolling across Akina's field.

Slowly Akina slid the two monster cards into her graveyard slot. Sighing, her hand returned to the cards she was holding. Now she had no choice, she had to use them to some extent.

"I summon Flame Dancer in defense mode (550/450)." She cried out, slapping the said card horizontally on her duel disk. Before her, a blue tiki monster appeared over a yellow bordered card. It was moving its feet in a dancing motion, a blue trailing off its movements. "I end my turn."

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

Fuh-Rin-Ka-Zan  
Trap  
You can only activate this card when there are at least 1 monster each of WIND, WATER, FIRE and EARTH Attributes face-up on the field. Select and resolve 1 of the following effects:  
- Destroy all monsters on your opponent's side of the field.  
- Destroy all Magic and Trap Cards on your opponent's side of the field.  
- Randomly discard 2 cards from your opponent's hand.  
- Draw 2 cards.

Akina: "Hello! Good to see you all are back again. Sadly though, I'm locked in a duel with this guy, at the worst possible time. What else could go wrong! Well, here is one of the cards he used that really messed up my plans. Fuh-Rin-Ka-Zan works while there are monsters on the field of wind, water, fire, and earth attribute, activating a gaggle of effects. You can; Destroy all magic and traps on the opponent's field, discard two cards from the opponents hand, draw two cards, or like Hygin did to me, destroy all monsters on the opponents field. Handy, but hard to work with, made a world easier with an Elemental Mistress Doriado on the field. Hope I can pull this duel out, this card single handedly ripped apart my offense."

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	5. Element Master Returns Pt 2

Episode 5: Element Master Returns Pt 2

Reku walked out of his bedroom, pulling the door shut behind him as softly as he could so as not to wake his sleeping friend inside. Once he heard the latch click, he turned and leaned back against the door. A sigh of relief escaped his lips, his right forearm finding its way to his head to wipe off the sweat that had started to build there.

"_I wonder if Akina could find our address books."_ Reku wondered, starting to walk away from the door, turning into the living area of their house. He was kind of surprised to not see her in there. "Akina?" He asked, looking around. His voice was still muffled so as not to wake Ronin.

No answer came in return. Reku started to grow slightly worried. What if someone had gotten to her while they were separated?

His heart started to pound, more sweat forming on his brow. His mind racked of all the places he should look, but he was stuck there in the middle of the floor. He couldn't decide where to start. Finally he heard it, a feint hum that he knew all to well. A duel disk!

His eyes quickly shifted towards their front window, his feet finally finding the strength to push him forwards. His hands grasped the window frame as through the glass he made out the woman he loved standing on the opposite of a familiar man Reku hoped he would never see again. Finally being able to tear himself away from the window Reku made his way as fast as he could out the front door and down the stone steps until he was standing behind Akina.

"Ah Reku, so nice of you to join us." Hygin commented as the black haired man came out of his house. "You are just in time to watch as I continue my onslaught against your girlfriend here. Won't it be wonderful to watch her lose?"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Reku growled, squeezing his fists tightly until his knuckles turned white. "Are you and him still using that damn magic card to steal peoples souls?"

Archip let out a chuckle at Reku's anger. "No, no, stupid boy. We no longer posses the Seal of Orichalcos, but that doesn't mean that we have grown weak at all." Archip motioned towards Hygin who was smirked as well, holding his duel disk level in front of him. "And Master Freyr has ordered us to take you two out of the scene so you do not become troublesome."

"Freyr." Reku's eyes narrowed, his voice filled now with a poison that drifted through the air.

Kiro, who had his arms crossed, started at Reku's reaction to the name. It was almost identical to the reaction Akina had to the name. Just who was this Freyr guy that caused these two to grow so angry at the sound of his name? The name, even to him, sounded like it would belong to someone who was just universally hated.

"I see you detest his name." Hygin smirked, holding up his duel disk. "Well, don't worry. Once we remove you from existence, than you won't have to ever worry about him again. Oh, and it was my turn." Snapping his right hand out to his side, he quickly jerked it back so it was resting on his deck. He, just as quickly, drew the top card of his deck. "So for my move I will activate the equipment magic card; Ritual Weapon!"

On the left arm of Hygin's Elemental Mistress Doriado appeared a thin, golden colored crossbow. Flexing her fingers on her left hand, surprised by the sudden addition to her body, she held up the weapon as it transferred its power to her (2700/2900).

"This card can only be equipped to a ritual summoned monster that has six or less stars, granting it 1500 extra attack and defense points." Hygin smirked, pointing towards the defending monster on Akina's field, the small blue tiki monster; Flame Dancer (550/450). "Attack!"

Snapping its arm out, Elemental Mistress Doriado launched a arrow of light from the crossbow on its arm. A feint whistling sound could be heard as the arrow hurdled through the air, stabbing and embedding itself in the chest of the small monster. It faded away instantly.

"My turn then ends." Hygin smirked, crossing his arms the best he could with the active duel disk still on his arm. On the field before him, Elemental Mistress Doriado held up the crossbow before her body, showing off the powerful weapon.

Akina looked back over her shoulder to where Reku stood. He was glaring past her, his eyes locked on Hygin and his blond haired monster. She understood what he was thinking. Things just kept getting weirder and weirder, making matters even worse than they already are.

"It is my turn." She calmly spoke, turning back around to face Hygin. Pulling the top card off her deck, she looked at it and placed it into her duel disk. "I start with the magic card; Emergency Provisions. By sending my set Gravity Bind and Insurance to the grave I will gain 1000 life points for each."

Akina-6500 LP  
Hygin-1600 LP

Akina slid the two said cards into her graveyard slot, the two holograms on the field fading with the magic card that was sucking their power and converting it into life energy for Akina.

"Set one card face-down on my field." Akina slowly slid one of the three cards she still held into her duel disk. Before her on the field the hologram of the set card rippled into existence. Looking up, her soft eyes stared at her opponent for a long time, studying him. A bead of sweat resting on her brow threatened to fall into her eye as she continued her mental research. With her right arm she wiped off her forehead and smiled. "I will just end my turn then."

"Draw!" Hygin smirked, sliding the top card off his deck and adding it to his hand. Without even taking a second look at its face, he snapped his arm out towards Akina. "Time to inflict some major damage to you! Doriado attack! Take a chunk out of her life points with the Ritual Crossbow!"

With precise and true aim, the monster snapped up its arm, shooting out a arrow of pure lime green light. Cruising across the field at increasable speed, the arrow smashed into Akina's shoulder, the shock wave from the attack causing her to stumble backwards.

Akina- 3800 LP   
Hygin-1600 LP

"_So it's not a hidden trap."_ Kiro lowered his head as Akina made her way back to her place on the front lawn. Behind his black sunglasses, his eyes focused on the face down card Akina had set on her field. _"It is nothing but a horrible bluff. She has drawn a terrible selection of monsters this duel, and not enough protection trap cards."_ Then, his eyes drifted up Akina's petit body to her face, to her lovely eyes. There, in the two spheres in her head, he saw something her recognized very well. _"There is a reason to win though. There is something she is fighting for, and she refuses to lose."_

"Give me your best shot." Hygin smirked, his monster pulling the crossbow up so it was pointing towards the sky. In the launcher, a arrow of lime green energy formed. "I end my turn."

"Then it is my turn. Draw." Akina slid the top card off her deck, looking at its face for a long while before making up her mind. "I end my turn."

"That bad of a draw huh?" Hygin began to chuckle to himself with the poor luck of his opponent. "Draw!" Snapping the top card from his deck, he once again aimed his hand towards his opponent. "Elemental Mistress Doriado attack! Take another chunk out of her life points."

Snapping its arm up again, the white robed woman launched another arrow of lime green energy from the stylized crossbow resting on its arm. Whizzing through the air, the arrow once again crashed into Akina, causing her to slide backwards on the grass.

Akina-1100 LP  
Hygin-1600 LP

Digging in her heels, Akina managed to stop from sliding. Pushing herself forward, she returned to the spot on the field where she was dueling from.

Behind her, Reku was gritting his teeth at the current situation of the duel. _"Akina took two direct blows and her life points won't last long enough to survive three. She has taken a huge gamble that her opponent wouldn't play anything else on the field."_ Clenching his hand into a fist, he continued to look on. _"Come on honey, I know you can pull this off."_

"It's your move." Hygin's voice was cold, insulting as he and his monster took a boastful stance on the opposite side of the field. Akina, not taking any notice to this position, reached up and pulled the top card off her deck.

"I draw and finally can make a move." Akina smiled happily as she slid one of the cards she was holding into her duel disk. "To start with I play the magic card Monster Reborn. This card revives one monster from the graveyard to my side of the field. I chose to bring back my Sonic Duck, in attack mode (1700/700)."

A rush of lights showered across Akina's field as the green bordered card appeared before her. From the card image, the small green duck with its red scarf and gray bucket once again raced onto the field. Quacking loudly, it made sure everything in the area knew that it had, once again, arrived on the field.

Akina's next motion was to the set card she had on her side of the field. "Open down card! Bronze, Silver, and Gold Sword Ritual!" With Akina announcing its name, the set card flipped up and began to shower the field with its own radiant light. Its rays were so powerful that it was hard to tell when exactly the green duck vanished from the field. "This ritual card allows me to sacrifice three monsters from my hand or field in order to summon out the three great knights of legend! I sacrifice my Sonic Duck, as well as these two monsters from my hand."

Sliding two more cards from her hand of three into the dark slot on her duel disk, she looked up at Hygin with a large smile on her face.

"I summon forth; Bronze Loyal Knight (1400/800), Silver Loyal Knight (1500/900) and Gold Loyal Knight (1600/1000)!" Akina slapped three new cards down on her duel disk from her fanned out deck before her. On her field, three identical knights appeared, each holding a long, slender double bladed sword. One was wearing bronze coloured armor to match his name, the other silver and the last a shining gold.

"What was the point in summoning those monsters, and in attack mode I might add?" Hygin cocked an eyebrow at the three shining warriors before him. They only barely passed half of the current attack his monster had. "That was a waste of five cards." Hygin continued to speak when Akina didn't answer him right away. "Three useless monsters."

"You only wish they were worthless." Akina spoke up finally, looking at the one card she still held in her hand. "Alright, this ends my turn since my ritual is preventing those three from attacking on this turn."

Hygin's eyes were wide, as well as his mouth being slightly open. "Alright." Was all he could spit out. Not only did she waste a turn to summon three weak monsters to the field, but then left them there defenseless and with minimal life points to live on. _"This will be easier than I thought."_ Hygin smirked, his eyes narrowing and pride filling his pupils. "I draw to start my turn." Doing just that, he added the new card into his hand and pointed towards Akina's three knights. "Alright Doriado, one last time! Attack her Bronze Loyal Knight!"

"All for one activate!" Akina cried out, startling Hygin slightly. Doriado, unaffected by Akina's announcement, lifted her left arm and blasted another green arrow from the cross bow. Whizzing across the field, the arrow aimed to kill the bronze armored knight but soon found itself stopped in dead air. The tip of the arrow was pressing against the crossroad of three swords, crossed in front of the weakest knight monster.

"Wait, what did you do?" Hygin was astonished that the attack had been blocked so easily.

"Don't you remember my knight's special power?" Akina smiled, not boastfully, but a sweet, innocent school girl smile. "If they are attacked by a monster that has 1000 more attack points than it does, and the three of them are on the field, they can negate one attack each." The knights lowered their swords as Akina spoke, the arrow of lime green light exploded with a small pop, leaving green bubbles floating through the air.

"Oh, well, fine." Hygin was a bit dumbfounded. He had actually forgotten the effects of those stupid knights. It had been five years ago that he had last seen them in play. "Either way, a built in negate attack or not, your monsters won't last you forever. I just end my turn."

"You do, and you lose!" Akina announced, snapping the top card off her deck and adding it to her hand. Pulling out the first card that had been sitting there a while, she quickly slid it into her duel disk. "I play the magic card Heavy Storm. This destroys all magic and trap cards on the field!"

The magic card hologram appeared next to Akina, sending a gale of wind bursting from the card image and rushing around the magic and trap card zones. The two card holograms Hygin on his field exploded in the massive maelstrom, vanishing completely from sight.

Hygin pulled the two cards out of his duel disk and looked at their faces. His set Elemental Absorber and the Ritual Weapon. Both were then moved into his graveyard slot, his eyes darting back up to his female monster who was growing weak without her weapon at her side (1200/1400)."

"And now it is my turn to call for one last attack." Akina pointed to the white robed monster that still was sitting on Hygin's field. "Go my Bronze Loyal Knight, attack and destroy Elemental Mistress Doriado! Bronze Sword Slash!"

With the attack order, the knight did just that. Rushing across the field, it brought its sword down across the body of the blond haired woman, cutting her into two pieces in an instant. She cried out in pain for a few moments before bursting into many tiny data fragments.

Akina-1100 LP  
Hygin-1400 LP

"And Gold Loyal Knight attack now! Golden Sword Slash!" She cried again, her golden monster taking a running charge at the opponent. With a flick of its wrists, it also brought its sword whipping down through the air, across Hygin's body.

Akina-1100 LP  
Hygin-0 LP

Hygin growled, his feet digging into the soft earth of the ground below as the shock wave pushed his body backwards. He had his arms crossed over his chest and held up to protect his head. A light gray cloud billowed out of the area that the knight's sword had slashed down upon.

"Now get off of my front lawn." Reku snapped, power walking past Akina and stopping halfway between her and her ex-opponent. "You have no right to be here anymore, so just leave."

"Fine, we'll leave." Archip shot back, wrapping his arm around his buddies shoulder. "But don't think this is the last time you have seen of either of us, we will be back, as well as Lord Freyr! You won't be able to escape our wrath forever you know, soon…" a cold smirk rolled across his face "…you will crack and fall apart under the increadable power that we are now working for."

"And don't you forget this either Akina." Hygin's head slowly lifted so he was looking at his female opponent. "You may have won today, but you won't be so lucky the next time we duel. I now have a better idea of what I'm up against. Just you wait," he whipped his buddies arm off his shoulder and pointed to Akina, "Freyr will be the least of your worries when I get through with you!" And with that threat, both Hygin and Archip turned and scurried off the green grass, both rounding a corner past a large wooden fence so they were out of sight.

Akina walked up next to Reku, wrapping her arms around his right arm and leaning against his shoulder. They both stood there for a few moments just staring at the vanishing point of the two duelists. There thoughts were pretty much identical; what else could go wrong?

"I never thought we'd ever see those two ever again." Akina sighed, he head burrowing deeply into Reku's arm. "This just had to happen at the worst possible time. And he recruited them so quickly since we met him."

"A little too quickly." Reku narrowed his eyes. "And if he found those two…out of billions of people in the world, what of our other enemies has he already recruited to his side. This could be very bad if they all came at us at once."

"More reason to get reinforcements as quickly as we can." Akina let go of her boyfriend, looking up to see his brown eyes locked on a point in the distance. "We definitely can't do this alone."

"Your right." Reku nodded. With that, the two of them began to turn around to head back into the house, stopping suddenly when they came face to face with a pair of pitch-black sunglasses on the face of a hooded man.

"So who is Freyr?" Kiro asked sternly, almost demanding an answer with his tone of voice. Both Reku and Akina, startled by the sudden presence of the man, shrank back a few steps, unable to say anything. Growing slightly irritated already, Kiro tried again. "Freyr, who the hell is he and what is going on here?"

"Um…" Reku tried to form words, but he couldn't quite figure out what he should say. He hadn't even heard Kiro move up behind him, or even known he was in the general vicinity at the time. Not only that, how would he explain something like Freyr and his lackeys to someone who probably had never seen anything strange in his life time.

His blood boiling at this point, Kiro reached up and ripped of the black shades concealing his eyes. Akina let out a scream of terror and jumped behind Reku, who had jumped backwards even more, snapping up his fist in a defensive stance. They normal, natural eyes that were in any normal and natural human head was absent here, instead, there were two eyeballs with only a solid, blood red iris sitting in the middle of it. Streaks of red seemed to rush off the sides of the circles, tinting the otherwise white eyeball a shade of red.

"Answer me now, or I'll resort to more violent ways of making you talk." Kiro threatened, holding up one of his hands and cracking every knuckle in it with a quick jerk of his fingers inward.

Flinching slightly at the echoing crack, Reku's eyes darted from the gloved hand that still remained floating in air before him, to the odd, inhuman eyes that stared daggers at him. For a second he faltered, his body shuddering in fear. Something about Kiro's eyes just broke down his defenses and left him standing there weak, vulnerable.

"What…what are you?" Reku finally managed to spit out, trying to shield Akina the best he could with his body. His body slowly inching backwards, forcing Akina to move backwards with him. "You…you're not human….are you?"

"I believe it is rude to change the subject on someone." Kiro growled, taking a huge step forward and closing the gap between him and the two cowering humans. "Now, I asked the first question, who in the hell is Freyr and what is going on here?" He watched the individual beads of sweat rolling down Reku's face. A large ball of saliva roughly being swallowed down his throat in fear of Kiro.

Sighing, Kiro put back on his shades and turned towards Reku's and Akina's house.

"Fine, we'll do it your way. I'll answer your questions inside, but you also have to answer my questions." Turning his head slightly, he glared at the two of them from behind the shades. "And no lying to me."

* * *

Tal stood oak tree stiff in a dark, deserted tile hallway. His eyes focused on a door that stood before him. His emotionless demeanor finally broke when a cold, plotting smile crossed his lips. 

"I think it's about time that you woke up my young friend." Tal's words were under his breath, though no one was around to hear him anyways. "You're assistance will be required, as we must do as much as we can while reserving as much force as possible."

Reaching out, Tal wrapped his bulky fingers around the cold, metal door knob. His callused palms scraping against the smooth, fine surface of the metal as he slowly turned the knob. A loud creaking sound rang down the empty hallway as the door strained against its hinges.

"_Freyr told me to me to go fine reinforcements for my plans to work. This way, we can take out them all without wasting too much effort."_ Tal continued to push open the incredibly thick door. _"Hygin and Archip should have taken care of Reku and Akina by now, if they won that is."_ Tal stopped, thinking about what he had just said. _"Ok…they've lost and it'll be up to me to clean up their mess…" _

_/Flashback/_

/The large, three eyed demon stood in the abandoned subway station glaring down at the three humans that were kneeling before him. To his sides, the Egyptian man stood with his arms crossed, and at the other side, the pale purple skinned vampire stood.  
_  
"Very well, I've heard enough. You can serve me on a trial basis alone. I do not tolerate failure, and just realize how lucky you are to be allowed this opportunity. Now speak unto me your names." Freyr motioned for them to rise with his hand. Once they did, the center figure spoke up again._

_"This man's name is Archip." He said, motioning to the tall skinny man off to his left. Pointing to the man at his right he continued to speak. "This is Hygin." Bringing his arms back and placing them on his chest he looked proud that it was his turn. "And my name is Tal."_

"_To me you are still scum one, two and three." Freyr turned and began to walk towards the far wall of the subway station. "But, since you do seem to know these pests that stood in our way, I think you'd know by now how to eliminate them. You shall call me Master or Lord. I am Freyr, superior being to ones such as yourself." Motioning towards the two subordinates that still stood in the same spots, he continued to introduce them. "You will also follow the commands of these two. Dementia and Thoth have total control over you as well." _

"_Yes Master Freyr." Tal bowed slightly to his new master. _

"_At least he is loyal from the start." Dementia smirked, reaching out and wrapping her purple fingers around his chin and dragging his face towards her. Long, pointed nails were digging into the rough skin on his cheeks as he was being observed. "But those are usually the ones you have to look out for, as they will turn upon you at the drop of a pin. We should just kill them right now and get it over with." _

"_Enough Dementia." Freyr growled, leaning slightly against the wall of the chamber. "I have heard enough of your voice to give me an eternal headache already." His three eyes glared at her, cutting into her conciseness and draining her of any rebellious thought. _

"_Sorry, Master." She bowed, backing away from Tal and letting her arms dangle at her side. _

"_Now, Tal." Freyr drew the attention of the named man towards him with ease. "You claim you know these nuisances. What do you propose to do to get rid of them?" _

"_Over power them." Tal walked forward slightly, his head still bowed towards the floor. "Just as there seems to be no end to them, there is a wide array of people I still have contact with that would be more than willing to help out our cause here." Turning, he focused on the two other men that still stood there silent, waiting for an order to do something. "These two can strike first, attacking one group. From what I've read in the newspapers, Team Zero has pretty much all gone their separate ways, so they are no longer all in one group." _

"_I see." Freyr nodded slightly. "Alright, you go through with that plan. Gather whatever reinforcements you think we will need." _

"_Yes Master." Tal's head lifted so he was looking at the three eyed demon. "I will send others in to wipe out the barricades, that way we can conserve as much energy as possible to use later." _

"_The human isn't as stupid as one would think." Thoth spoke up finally, smirking at the glare he was getting from Tal. _

_/End Flashback/_

Tal now stood at the end of a long bed. His eyes darted from the figure lying in the bed resting, to a small while piece of paper clipped to the foot board. The thing that caught Tal's attention the most was printed in large black letters; Nakajima, Yukio. Below the paper was a small chest the contained Yukio's clothing and other spare accessories.

"It has been a long time since we've last seen each other." Tal smirked, finally bringing his eyes back up to the boy in the bed. His blue hair was a mess, ragged and just running across the pillow any which-way. "You once served my former master, and you'll do just fine to serve my new one." Tal cocked an eyebrow at the young, unconscious man in the bed. "Or are you…" Reaching into his pocket, Tal produced a deck of Duel Monster cards. "To be on the safe side, I had better test you. Prepare yourself Yukio; this will be the deciding factor of your service in this world ever again."

* * *

A tall, silver haired man stood in an abysmal darkness, stretching as far as the eye could see in every direction. Purple streaks washed their way across the 'wall's' of the odd place, giving the area a dark, foreboding feeling to it. 

Gurabe Degujiu had his arms crossed across his torso, his eyes shut tightly on his pale face. His attire had not changed in the past five years; still the same black suit that looked as if he were going to a funeral still covered his body. His nicely, ironed, black pants hung down to just above a pair of black dress shoes, which were dirty and scuffed in several places.

His eyes slowly peeled open, staring off into the darkness that laid before him. An angry expression crossed his face as he stared outwards.

Reaching down to his side, he reached into one of the tight fitting pockets of the pair of pants he wore. Emerging a second later with a stack of Duel Monsters cards he pulled them up so they were before his body. With his left hand, he casually flipped over the top card of the deck to see his special card, his crystal card; the Amber Crystal.

"Dammit, it's starting again." He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the card before him. "But this feels different than anything I've felt from this crystal before. Why does it feel like an overpowering darkness, even greater than mine? I think I need to gather some additional information."

Lifting his head slightly more, he peered out into the blackness that rested on the sky above. The purple swirls within dancing across the plane with their mesmerizing positions. Frowning deeply, he started to sprint forward through the darkness.

It wasn't long before he vanished into the fog that wrapped itself around his body. Moments later finding himself standing in a golden chamber before two figures. One, the one he had planned to see, the other he didn't know at all.

"Gurabe!" Order exclaimed with the sudden appearance of the young man. "What an unexpected surprise to see you here. Did you come because you can feel there is something wrong?"

"I did." Gurabe scowled at the words being taken right out of his mouth. His anger soon turned to curiosity as he pointed to the black robed figure the stood next to Order. "And who is this guy?"

"My name is of no importance, but you may refer to me as Deruku." The figure motioned to itself as he spoke. "I'm a overseer in the grand scheme of things, and I can only assume that you are one of the several chosen ones to posses a chunk of the crystal. Am I even getting close to correct?"

"You're so close you're burning up." Gurabe smirked, holding up his Amber Crystal card. "I do posses one of the crystal cards, oddly enough, and it was the thing that dragged my presence here. I'm seeking answers." Turning to Order, he looked stone faced at her. "Now, what is going on here?"

"It's a long story." Order motioned to the golden chair that sat in the room, offering it to him to sit. "I'm sure once we fill you in, Reku, Ronin and Akina will be more than overjoyed to have your help."

"Help…" Gurabe growled at the words. "So, there is something big going down, just like I thought." Striding across the room Gurabe plopped his rear end in the golden chair. "Alright, I'm ready. Start from the beginning and don't leave out any details."

"Very well." Deruku and Order turned to face the man sitting in the chair. "Well, recently…"

"Hey!" A gruff voice rang out across the golden chamber. Followed by a loud banging noise that echoed across the chamber as the golden doors swung open, crashing into the walls behind it. "Don't start explaining without all of us here." The owner of the voice stepped into the chamber followed close in foot by two other figures.

The owner of the voice, a tall, dark white skinned man with raven black hair matching his eyes, continued to walk forward across the chamber until he reached the three people already there. Behind him, a man of the same height but with silvery hair and stone gray eyes stood next to a man with sky blue hair and yellow colored eyes.

"Ah, Heruru, Hebanu and of course, Kooru." Deruku turned to face the three new visitors to the chamber. "I'm so glad that you three could make it. It would seem you got the urgent message just fine."

"Yes." Kooru nodded, looking down at the silver haired boy resting in the chair. "And who, pray tell, is he?"

"I could ask the same thing about the three of you." Gurabe narrowed his eyes at the strange newcomers. "Something about you three doesn't seem human at all."

"You'd be right zombie boy." Heruru growled, smirking at his own superiority.

"You could tell I'm not living?" Gurabe's eyes widened in fear at how talented these three people were. But how? Not even people that had been around him for years could tell that, there were no obvious signs that he wasn't just some crazy guy dressed in a suit.

"We could tell before we ever entered the room." Heruru continued to smirk at the awestruck man. "We could smell your rotting flesh and mass collection of random souls. You haven't been living for quite some time now."

"It's because of our demon heritage." Hebanu finally spoke, rubbing the back of his head with his right hand, clearing up a lot for Gurabe with those words.

"Wait…you're demons!" Gurabe stuck an accusing finger towards the three of them. "But…wait…what?"

"Calm down Mr. Gurabe." Deruku spoke, placing his hands on Gurabe's shoulders. "Let me explain, and then things will become clearer to you." Looking over his shoulder, he stared at the three demons as well. "Then we'll get to the events that are taking place currently."

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Bronze, Silver, and Gold Sword Ritual**  
Ritual Magic  
Sacrifice three monster cards from your hand or your field in order to summon from your hand or deck a Bronze Loyal Knight,Silver Loyal Knight and a Gold Loyal Knight to the field all in the same mode. If you sacrificed any monsters from your hand for this ritual, these monsters cannot attack this turn

Kaira: "Hey everyone. Today's card is something Akina plays in her deck to summon out three of her most powerful monsters. The Bronze, Silver, and Gold Sword Ritual is a key card for her, as most of her monsters aren't the most powerful. But these three knights that can be summoned; the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Loyal Knights, are quite powerful in their own rights. Even if they can't attack if you sacrifice cards from your hand, that doesn't hold them back to much. Just got to know when to use this card."

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	6. Yukio vs Tal! Clash in the Darkness

Episode 6: Yukio vs. Tal! Clash in the Darkness

Tal stood at the end of a hospital bed, staring down at the restful body wrapped in the white sheets. Yukio Nakajima lay in a peaceful coma on the sheets, a scowl still adorning his face. His blue hair laid in a mess across the pillow.

"You haven't changed much in these past few years." Tal spoke, lifting his deck up to his chest. "But have your skill wilted away like a rotten flower in this course of time?" With his left hand, he reached down the collar of his shirt, pulling out a circular chunk of stone that he was wearing like a necklace. On the surface of the stone was engraved many Egyptian style ruins, as well as the Eye of Ra carved into the center. "It's been a long time since I've had to use my Shadow Medallion." Tal chuckled to himself, looking from the stone medallion to the young boy still laying in the bed.

His eyes though quickly darted over his shoulder to see that there were two other beds in the room. He had almost forgotten about them, Yukio's team mates. They could possibly be of some use as well he guessed. The more disposable pawns he could rack up, the better for him in the end.

"Alright, time to get to work." Tal spoke finally, snapping his arm with the shadow medallion outwards as far as the rope loop around his neck would allow the medallion to go. It began to glow with a purple and black light, sending out an odd gray and purple fog that engulfed the bed before the man, as well as his own body.

"So who the hell are you?" Yukio's angered voice rang across the darkness. Tal turned to face the young man who was sitting cross-legged on the dark floor of the strange place.

"I'm surprised you don't remember me Yukio. It was only but five years ago that we worked together on the same team. Don't you remember your service to Master Chaos?"

"Chaos huh?" Yukio slowly raised himself from his sitting position on the floor so that he was standing before Tal. Crossing his arms, he examined Tal's body, looking for anything that he would remember. Then it hit him. "You were that robed weirdo that served him, weren't you?"

"I was robed yes." Tal was albeit taken back by the comment of 'weirdo'. Brushing it aside, he continued to speak. "But that is not the point, I have come here for one purpose and one purpose alone. I am here to recruit your assistance to my new master. And, I'm sure this offer is something a man in your position could not afford to turn down."

"What kind of offer?" Yukio cocked an eyebrow at the man. "I'm sure I could turn down any offer you want to give me. It's your damn fault I'm stuck in this weird place. If it wasn't for you and that demented boss of yours using me…"

"The offer is to set you free." Tal interrupted, catching the attention of the young man instantly. "You would then be enlisted to serve a great being named Lord Freyr. He has far more power than Chaos ever could dream of, and he wants to have you on his side."

"Really?" Yukio seemed interested now. "So what's the catch? What happened to Chaos anyways to make you betray him for this Freyr guy?"

"I never betrayed Chaos; I was loyal to him up until the point where he died." Tal spoke far to calm to be talking about the death of someone. Looking down, he saw the surprised look on Yukio's face. "Chaos got to reckless, rushing in to face an opponent who could over power him. Reku Yamashita is the one who dealt the death blow, I'm sure the name rings familiar with you."

"Reku…Yamashita…" Yukio's gaze dropped to the floor, his eyes wide. "That weakling?"

"He is no weakling anymore. Even I am surprised at the level of skill that has come from him. Him and his friends. The same friends that you had to face in battle once yourself, and with their teamwork, beat the life out of you."

"Those two." Yukio's voice was beginning to fill with malice and anger. "They all have grown far more powerful correct?" Looking up, he began to smile coldly at the buff man standing before him. "And if I follow this Freyr guy, he'll allow me the opportunity to get my revenge on those three?"

"That, and so much more." Tal smirked back, pleased at the level of instant cooperation he was suddenly getting from the young man. _"Sometimes, you just have to know what buttons to push."_

"Alright, I'll do it, if it gets me out of this strange place." Looking around, he visibly shuddered at the thought of having to stay in this cold world of inky darkness. "Where am I anyways?"

"The shadows." Tal spoke calmly, awaiting the reaction from Yukio. "This is the punishment you were willing to inflict on Reku and his friends had they lost in that duel to you. But, because they won, the punishment backfired on you and your team mates. They too are stuck in this place, wondering alone in the darkness. This is your chance Yukio, you can be set free, as well as your team mates, all you have to do is prove your worth to me."

"Prove my worth?" Yukio again cocked an eyebrow at the man. "Like, how?"

"Show me your skills in a duel." Tal held up his deck, the brown back cards seeming to glow in his fingers. Reaching his hand out, he let go of the deck of cards, letting them fall downwards slightly before seeming to stop, being held up by a strange rainbow colored orb of light. "Ready?"

"…" Yukio stared at the orb of light holding up Tal's deck. Looking up at the man, he nodded rather sheepishly "Alright then." Turning, he ran away slightly to give them room to duel. Taking out his own deck, he mimicked what Tal had down a few moments before, to his surprise, actually working too. The deck floated on an orb of rainbow colored light, moving slightly up and down.

"The power of this world will control the outcome of this game." Tal spoke again, placing his hand on the top card of his deck. "The energy inside of us will be required to mix with the energy in this world for this duel to take place." Tal paused, taking in the dumbstruck look Yukio was giving him. "Since you seem to be lost, I'll take the honors of starting this duel off."

Yukio-4000 LP  
Tal-4000 LP

Reaching out with his right hand, Tal slid a chunk of cards off his deck and brought them up to his face. Transporting the cards into his left hand, he quickly fanned them out like a duelist is normally doing; viewing every card he has at his disposal. With his right hand, he pulled another card off his deck and snapped it across his view. This draw was the beginning of his turn.

With grace, as much as his bulky body could muster, he placed his right hand over the tops of the cards he held. Dropping his hand down, his index and middle finger clasped around one of the cards right in the middle of his hand. Snapping it upwards, he yanked the card out of its resting place, and tossed it high into the atmosphere of the inky darkness.

"To start this game, I normal summon my Zero Monster Alforce (0/0) in attack mode!" A spray of lights began to rain down from the spiraling card hovering in mid-air over the crop-top head of Tal. A loud explosion rang through the darkness as the card itself seemed to have detonated, sending a dark gray cloud rushing down onto the field below, engulfing Tal whole.

Yukio stood there in amazement, waiting for the smoke to clear to see what really happened. This was all far to confusing for him to put together. Then he saw it, not one, but two figures standing in the smoke.

The first figure was Tal; the second was a new humanoid like figure standing just as tall as Tal. It was a slimmer monster, covered in a red and blue colored body suit, covering every part of its body from its toes to the top of its round head. Even the face was hidden behind the mask of cloth. On the forearms and down over the hands of the strange newcomer were gray, stone-looking gauntlets.

"…." Yukio's jaw dropped slightly at realizing that this new figure on the field was indeed Tal's summoned monster; Zero Monster Alforce. He had never seen, nor heard of such a card before in his entire life time. Then again, he had been trapped here for, just recently learning, five years. Things could have changed. "So, how did you…do that?" Yukio decided to ask, his voice trying to hide his stupidity on the subject.

"It's simple Yukio." Tal grinned, waving his right arm in a full arc across the front of his body. "This duel will be like nothing you've ever dealt with before. I have used my own energy to transform the power locked inside my card into a physical being. I made my monster flesh and blood, and you'll be doing it as well, or you won't be able to complete this duel." His grin soon melted into a slight teasing frown. "And I'm not going to wait around until you figure it out. If you can't put together how to work this type of energy, then you aren't worth Lord Freyr's time and will just remain here."

Looking over his hand, he yanked out another one of his cards with his right hand. Snapping his wrist forward, he sent the card spiraling towards the warrior monster that was standing on the field just feet before him. The card exploded, sending a wave of heat rushing outwards, and then inwards. This created a black hole appearance in never-ending fog on the field behind his monster.

"I also set one card face down on the field. This ends my turn."

"Then I guess it is my turn." Yukio reached for the top card of his deck, sliding it off. The orb of light recoiled slightly, dipping downwards in the air then pulling itself back up to the same level. Taking the card, he winded back his right hand by his side. With great force he snapped his arm foreword, sling shooting the card forward into the darkness. "I summon…"

Yukio felt a sudden jerk as energy was yanked from his soul. He felt slightly dizzy as he watched the card he had thrown began to fall with the gravity of the realm. Why didn't it work? Was he not trying hard enough? Then it did happen, the card started to glow in mid-fall, beginning to smoke as it landed on the dark floor below.

The smoking card seemed to melt a hole in the floor, falling through into what appeared to be acid. Then, from this hole in the ground, a large snake like creature began to poke its head out. Its head was just an oval, no nostril or mouth on its face. Only two blinking round orange eyes. Its skin was slick, and appeared to be scaled with bluish-green scales.

"…Zergo's Acid Crawler (1600/1100)." Yukio completed his sentence once his snaky beast appeared on the field. He felt a bit winded from the sudden change in energy level. It was a completely new feeling to him. Not even the duels he had once, so very long ago, were the attacks seemed real had this type of effect on him. And apparently, this whole duel was going to be like this.

"_A 1600 attack point monster. Not bad, though it has no other hidden powers on its own, it isn't going to be a pushover."_ Tal contemplated in his head, thinking of what he was going to do to deal with the new threat. _"I'm sure that even though it is just a normal monster, doesn't mean that it is worthless. It belongs to a deadly series of cards."_

"_This will take some getting used to."_ Yukio shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Looking up, his attention imminently shot back to the situation at hand. "Alright Zergo's Acid Crawler, attack and destroy his monster now!"

Sliding back into its hole, the bluish-green snake like monster created a wave with its intense splash back into the acid. Rushing up over the hole, the lime green liquid raced with precise aim towards the red and blue jump suited monster, engulfing it in a wave of toxins.

"You've triggered my trap card." Hygin spoke over the roar of the liquid splashing against the shadowed floor. The vortex of fog that was before him began to spurt outwards, creating streams of fog shooting in every direction. "Zeroing It All Out! A trap card that works when a monster with zero attack is destroyed. I take no damage to my life points because of it."

Finally the fog cleared, leaving a clean view of Tal's side of the field. Indeed, his monster had been wiped out in the overflow of acid, but the trap card had saved Tal's life points. Now all that rested on Tal's field was a pair of stone-like gauntlets, the same ones that his monster had been wearing when it took its place of residence on his field.

"And then there is the special power of my Zero Monsters'. When they are destroyed in battle, they leave behind a small chunk of themselves." Tal continued to speak, motioning towards the gloves hovering on the field. "The equipment magic card, Alforce Gauntlets is played from my deck!"

"What does that mean?" Yukio cocked an eyebrow at Tal's last speech. From the hole in the dark floor before him, the snake-like creature popped its head out again, swaying back and forth slightly. Yukio could understand the trap card saving his life points, but what did he mean that his monster left a part of itself behind? What were those gauntlets really capable of?

"You'll see soon enough." Tal smirked, placing his hand on his deck. He slowly slid the top card off his deck, waiting to see if Yukio had any objections. Not getting any sort of reaction from the silver haired boy, Tal flipped the card up so he could see its face. "So for my turn, I'll just summon a monster known as Zero Monster Sparks in defense mode."

Taking the drawn card, he flung it skyward. The card began to erupt in a spry of sparks, rushing downwards, followed seconds later by dark, thick clouds of fog spraying out from the sides of the card. A snickering could be heard from inside the fog bank, and out shot a small, rodent-headed bolt of lightning. Out of the sides of the lightning bolt-shaped body stuck two cute little arms that it tried wrapping around its body to protect itself (0/0).

"This ends my turn." Tal smirked, his small monster crouching over in front of him. Behind him, the stone-like gauntlets still floated in mid-air.

"So, shouldn't you send those to the grave?" Yukio asked, pointing towards the gloves of stone. "They aren't equipped to anything, and technically, they are just sitting on the field. Doesn't that break the basic rules of equipment magic cards?"

"Normally." Tal nodded, pleased with his own knowledge on the subject that Yukio was obviously lacking. "But as these are special equipments, they will remain face-up on my field until I chose to equip them, and only once that monster is destroyed will they be destroyed."

"Whatever." Yukio tried to act as if it didn't mean a thing to him. Reaching out to his deck that was still floating in mid-air, he pulled the top card off and held it up so he could see its face. "I summon on this turn; Zergo's Cyborg (1500/1700)! Face-up attack mode!"

Crying out the card name as he flung the said card forward, this time with a lot more grace and skill than he had done on his previous turn with his Zergo's Acid Crawler. The hunk of cardboard exploded in mid-air next to the serpent monster that already rested on Yukio's field. This time, a steel colored monster appeared. Its body was cylindrical, with two arms coming out of the sides with cannons at the hands. On top of the tin-can robot was a head carved into a canine style.

"I also activate the magic card Bribe Under the Table! A magic card that will give you 500 life points in exchange for your monster shifting into attack mode!" Yukio cried out, flipping over the said card from his hand. Right there, locked in his fingers, the green bordered card began to glow in a radiant light, sending streams crossing the field in the blink of an eye.

Yukio-4000 LP  
Tal-4500 LP

The streams of lights wrapped themselves around the body of the lightning-bolt monster, forcing it to straighten out and become stiff looking.

"Zergo's Acid Crawler attack!" Yukio cried, snapping his arm up towards the defending electric beast. "Take out that rodent with your Acidic Wave!" Dipping its head back into its hole, the snake monster sent an accurately aimed blast of acid rushing out towards the monster. Engulfing it whole and disengaging it with only a smoke plumb left in its wake as well as a cluster of small electrical bolts that seemed to rotate around an invisible origin.

Yukio-4000 LP  
Tal- 2900 LP

Continuing his attack orders, Yukio motioned to his Zergo's Cyborg monster who instantly raised its arms with the cannon's pointed directly at Tal. "Attack directly!" Yukio bellowed, his monster instantly obeying by blasting out rays of molten hot energy from the barrels. Everything on the filed became invisible, blinded by the intense energy blast.

Yukio-4000 LP  
Tal-1400 LP

Clearing so that the field could be seen again, Tal stood proudly on his side of the field a step or two to the right of where he stood just seconds before. A large ditch had been carved into the dark floor from the attack that was aimed at him. Smoke seeped up from the indent as whatever the floor was made of was burning slowly.

"My turn has ended." Yukio smirked, pleased with the accomplishments he had made. _"It has been far too long since I've gotten to duel. Seems like I haven't lost my touch at all, I'm still godly at this game. This guy never stood a chance, even with his odd selection of monsters."_ Shrugging slightly to himself he thought; _"Who in their right mind plays with a deck full of monsters with no attack power?" _

"You're really underestimating my Zero Monster's aren't you?" Tal smirked as he placed his hand on the deck that was now floating directly in front of him rather than off to his side like it was before he dodged the attack. He slipped the top card off of it and glanced at its face.

"What is so special about you're stupid monsters?" Yukio was growing annoyed with Tal's composed nature as well as his bragging about his stupid non-existent attack monsters. "From where I'm standing, they all seem to be pretty worthless."

"Well then..." Tal looked once again at the cards he was holding, adding the newly drawn card to them. "…your pretty stupid." Pulling one of the cards out, he turned it over. "This will be my next monster. It is known as Zero Monster Mage (0/0) and it has the power to deal some major damage to you." Smirking slightly, he made sure Yukio could see the main features of the card. "Notice anything?"

Yukio looked at the orange bordered card for a second before it hit him that the basic features were missing. On the card there was only a name, an image, a text box for its effect and its attack and defense scores. There was no attribute, there was no star level.

"What the!" Yukio was quite confused. "How can you have cards that don't even have attributes or a star level, those have to be fake! Your cheating!"

"I assure you Mr. Nakajima, these card are very real, and they are legal. Though, you won't find them anywhere else but inside of my deck." Looking down at the stack of cards that rested before him, he smirked and looked back up. "That's because these cards I made myself when I worked for a man named Pegasus J. Crawford."

"Pegasus?" Yukio couldn't believe it. "How is that possible…why did he let you create you own series of cards? That's not even remotely fair!" Yukio was growing angry with what he was hearing.

"Long story, one that I am not in the department to share at this point in time." Tal turned his Mage monster back around so he could see it again. "But, lets say it was a 'I scratch your back, you scratch mine' type of deal. I saved his business once from going belly up after Mr. Pegasus lost to the King of Games." His eyes darted from his card back to Yukio, he smirked as he recalled something else to tell the young man. "Oh, and let me give you another little tid-bit; Zero Monsters come in types. Zero Monster Mage is obviously a spellcaster."

"And there is one Zero Monster for every type of monster there is?" Yukio cocked an eyebrow.

"Indeed. As you'll recall, my Zero Monster Sparks, obviously the Thunder Zero Monster, was destroyed so he left behind his own equipment card; Sparks Spark!" Tal changed the subject, motioning to the small sparks rotating on the field next to the stone gloves that still rested there. "Every Zero Monster equipment card carries with it the exact same power that the corresponding Zero Monster had with it. There for, they can share their powers for maximum effect in battle."

"I had no idea that they were so big on team work." Yukio was listening intently to Tal's little speech on his cards. Taking an opportunity to gain back some dignity, he smirked. "Of course, they'd have to be big on team work seeing just how pathetic they really are."

"You'll see how pathetic they are when you're the one with no life points left. Now, I summon my Zero Monster Mage!" Flicking the card up into the air, Tal caught it again between his index and middle fingers, quickly snapping his wrist again to send the card spiraling forward through the darkness. The card seemed to explode in mid-flight, the smoke covering a small section on Tal's field before producing the image of Tal's newest monster.

The monster was short, covered in stiff blue robes the hung down all the way to the dark ground below. The robe was laced with a black thread that stretched across the back of the robe as well, creating a mixture of symmetrical patterns. In his right hand he held a large staff that was about as tall as he was, with a claw like design carved into the top end of it. In the claw, a light blue orb rested, flowing with magical energies.

"And I equip him with both of my equipments; Alforce Gauntlets and Sparks Spark!" Tal continued, the two said items on the field moving forward finally towards the new magician on the field. With a stylish movement, the mage threw the staff into the air just seconds before the stone gloves wrapped themselves around the hands of the monster. Catching the staff again, he swung it out so the orb smashed into the electrical ball that was hovering towards him, conducting the energy.

"So your monster has a few new additions to his wardrobe, I still don't see how a monster with no attack points what-so-ever is going to deal me 'mass amounts of damage'." Yukio moved his fingers as he was quoting Tal.

"This is how." Tal pulled two of the cards he was holding in his hand out and held them high in the air. They seemed to be instantly set ablaze in a flash of purple flames. Swallowing them whole, the flames left only Tal's fingers unharmed as it finally destroyed the two cards. "The effect of my equipment card; Sparks Spark activates! By discarding a card, I can destroy one monster on the field, so by discarding two cards I can destroy two monsters. Ingenious, isn't it?"

"Smartass." Yukio growled as he watched Tal's monster prepare himself to activate the effect it was given. Snapping the staff outwards, he pointed it towards the two monsters that rested on Yukio's field, sending a bolt of electricity coursing out and blasting across the air. On contact with the electrical currents the two monsters exploded, sending a wave of sparks and smoke rushing across the field. Yukio had to shield himself from the heat that was produced.

"Indeed, my ass is ten times smarter than you are." Tal let a cold, cruel smirk cross his lips. "And that is just my ass, and yours is about to be grass." Snapping his arm up, he inhaled and cried out his battle cry. "Zero Monster Mage direct attack!"

Twirling the staff around in his hands for show, the monster finally snapping it out again, aiming it directly at the opponent that stood on the other side of the field, a little lost as to what this monster could really do to him. Narrowing its eyes, the Mage monster stuck its red tongue out of the corner of its mouth as the end of his staff began to charge up, finally releasing a wave of rainbow colored energy racing towards Yukio.

The attack hit point-blank, sending Yukio hurdling backwards in the darkness and crashing against the floor. Sliding a bit, Yukio finally came to a complete stop, still in shock at how much that attack actually hurt him.

Yukio-3000 LP  
Tal-1400 LP

"If you couldn't figure this out on your own, my monster can deal you 500 points of damage for every equipment equipped to it. And I count two, making for 1000 points of damage." Tal explained, waiting for Yukio to fully pull himself to his feet. Once he finally was there, Tal continued to speak. "And I end my turn at setting one card on my field." Tal hurled the card he was holding out into the air behind his mage monster, causing it to explode and create a vortex of smoke like all previously set cards had.

"I will draw…" Yukio's voice had become a bit horse as he spoke. Reaching for the top card of his deck, he pulled it off and glanced at its face. _"Alright, I can fully take this duel with this monster." _ Quickly he pulled one of the cards he was holding in his hand out and launched it out into the darkness before him. "I activate the quick-play magic card Zergo's Mirror Hall. This lets me pick up cards from my deck until I come to a Zergo servant monster, allowing me to special summon it to the field. But that's not all, depending on the monster, I might get another effect." Yukio proudly picked up cards from his deck until he came to a yellow bordered card. "And the monster I special summon is; Zergo's Loyal Knight (1000/900)!"

Snapping the card he drew out onto the field, Kiro's monster appeared from a plumb of smoke billowing out of the cardboard disk. Wearing a brown rag that covered his whole body, save the holes carved through the leather. In the hand of the monster was a large, double bladed and very scared up sword. The monster peered out from under the rags wrapped around his face with two, glowing yellow eyes.

Next to him, an identical monster appeared, slamming its sword into the ground.

"Since my Zergo's Loyal Knight is less than 1500 in attack points I can special summon all copies of that monster from my deck to the field." Yukio explained the sudden appearance of his second monster. "But neither of them can stick around for very long, as I have to sacrifice them both to summon out my ultimate creature!" Yukio pulled the drawn card out of the pocket of his right palm and tossed it forward into the darkness, the rectangle cardboard spinning like a disk.

Purple and black flame erupted from this card, shooting out and consuming the two warrior monsters that rested on Yukio's field whole. The flames shot upwards, taking on a red and yellow glow from deep within the center of the two, now spiraling, pillars of flames. They began to twist and merge together, creating one large tower of searing heat.

Suddenly the tower was ripped appear from a wave of a large, black piece of cloth. What appeared then was a tall, blue skinned behemoth towering above all other things on the field. Its face was shrowded in shadows down to its mouth, where two pearl white fangs gleamed in the light, dripping with crimson blood. Two, blood red eyes also pierced through the darkness of its face. Around the body of the monster, a large black cape was wrapped begin held by a ridged claw extended across the body of the monster.

"ZERGO!" Yukio cried out announcing his grand creature (3500/3500). "The creature dwelling in my deck that sucks up the light in the area, transforming everything into complete and overwhelming darkness!"

"So you summoned you're grand creature with a simple magic card." Tal shook his head, smiling slightly. "At least you're deck is somewhat good, now if only it had the power to stand up to my deck and my decks power."

"You talk too much, and your boasts don't hold any weight." Yukio snapped up an accusing finger at Tal. "Your monsters are obviously weak and will remain as such as long as I am around. Zergo! ATTACK!"

"Zero Severance Policy!" Tal snapped his arm downward, pointing to the swirling vortex of smoke that still was on his field. "This quick-play magic cards takes off all the equipment magic cards I have on my monster, and places them back on the field for someone else to use."

The gauntlets on the hands of the Mage disappeared, reappearing instantly floating in mid air behind him. The electrical current on the staff also disappeared, forming once again behind the monster. Nodding slightly with the sudden lack of the equipments, the Mage monster crouched down onto its knees and crossed its arms across its chest.

"Also, my monster shifts to defense mode." Tal explained, watching as Yukio's monster prepared to attack.

Snapping the black cape off to the side, the horrid monster sent a stream of fire billowing out of its maw like a flamethrower. At the front of this stream of fire was a massive fire ball that crashed into the Zero Monster Mage, incinerating the small magician.

Tal quickly picked up his deck, fanning it out and pulling one of the cards he saw out. Snapping his wrist forward, he launched the card out into the darkness where it exploded; leaving a large, blue metal staff, identical to the one the Mage monster had used.

"When Zero Monster Mage is destroyed it leaves behind Mage Staff." Tal explained, though the situation by now made it seem pretty obvious what was going on.

"It doesn't matter." Yukio shot his hand skyward, amplifying the greatness of his monster. "My monster is several times stronger than any of your weak cards. You'll never be able to beat him. So I'll just end my turn, letting you have one more turn of life in this duel." Letting his hand fall to his side, Yukio started chuckling, rather dark and boastfully. "Consider this a special gift."

"How about there is nothing you could have done to prevent me from having this turn." Tal growled, snapping Yukio's face from a self-induced pleasure to a very serious look. "And on this turn, you shall lose. I guarantee it." Pulling the top card off his deck, he instantly flipped it over, the image of the card beginning to shine very brightly. "I activate the magic card; Card of Sanctity! Now we both draw until we are holding six cards." Placing his hand back on his deck, he slid five cards off to add to the one he was already holding.

Yukio drew his four cards to make the total of six in his hand.

"Good, I have just the monster I need to wipe you out of this duel." Tal pulled one of his newly drawn cards out and checked it forward, causing it to explode in thin-air like all the other cards had before it.

What emerged this time was a trash can shaped robot. It rested on a round base on the dark ground, no arms or outside appendages at all that one could see. On the top of its cylindrical body sat what looked like a future, high tech helmet with a huge cannon resting at the very top of it.

"Zero Monster Cyborg (0/0) comes with a deadly ability." Tal chuckled, holding up three cards from his hand, all useless equipment cards at the present moment. "You see, in a deck like this there are two major weaknesses; very little damage can be dealt and of course, since the equipments can only be played through Zero Monsters and their destruction, these things build up in your hand." Snapping his hand forward he pointed to his machine Zero Monster. "That is why I created Zero Monster Cyborg, you see, I can discard cards from my hand to inflict 1000 points of damage per card!"

"What!" Yukio was astonished. The three cards that seemed to ignite in Tal's fingers made Yukio's heart sink. The cannon perched on top of the trash-can like monster began to glow, bolts of energy blasting out and racing across the field. Every second to Yukio felt like several minutes, watching the three blast of pure white energy slowly creeping forward towards him. He couldn't' move…he couldn't exhale.

The blasts connected, sending him instantly snapping backwards through the air. Yukio's conscience was suddenly gone; he was blank eyed, almost like he had died instantly from the attack.

Yukio-0 LP  
Tal-1400 LP

Shooting up, Yukio stared around. He was sitting in a bed in a dark, hospital room. Standing at the end of the bed was the same man he had just faced down in a duel. Something about the man seemed even scarier when he was hovering above you. He began to slowly claw his way backwards on the bed, trying to put some distance between him and Tal.

"Good morning Mr. Nakajima. A five year nap should have been sufficient enough to give you the rest you need." Tal spoke with a know-it-all tone, very boastful towards the young man lying in the bed. "I have tested you, and you did pass. You are just what we could use to fight this war for Master Freyr. You will serve him." Looking over his shoulder, he drew Yukio's attention to the other two beds in the room, the people laying them beginning to stir as well "And so will your team mates."

* * *

Ryokurio stopped the truck in the small driveway of a pale yellow house that set in the middle of the block. Sighing, he noticed that there was two vehicles already in the driveway, one he was sure was his sister's; Usami's small beat up car that she had been driving for a while now. The other car was a bit newer, and shiny silver. _"Did she buy herself a new car? Where did she get that kind of money from?"_

The door of his truck was slowly opened and its driver hopped out, landing on the soft grass of his sister's lawn. She didn't own any big fancy house, just a one story small little living box….but it served its purpose.

Walking casually across the small lawn he made his way to the front door. The screen door of the house was missing and the paint on the inside, solid wooden door was chipping and cracking from exposure to the elements. Carefully, he began to knock on the door. Even though he wasn't slamming his fist onto it, chips of paint still fell off and cracked apart as they hit the door frame.

The door opened and in the door way stood his blond sister. Smiling as he greeted her, she jumped into his arms and gave him a huge hug.

"Brother! I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too. I really wanted to see what you've done for living arrangements." Looking around the rather torn up house, he sweat dropped. "Though, I figured you'd find a place in a bit better shape than this one. I know you didn't have tons of cash to spend, but there is was probably something better for you out there." Turning, he thumbed towards the driveway. "Or is it that you ran out of cash buying that vehicle?"

"No, no." She giggled, motioning for her brother to come into the house. "That car belongs to my house-guest. She'll be staying here for a little while. You remember Sachiko don't you?"

"Sachiko Maeda?" Ryokurio cocked an eyebrow, surprised to hear that name again. His sister shook her head in a hyper nodding motion. Looking around, he didn't see any one else in the living room of the house. "So, why is she here?"

"Long story." A familiar female voice rang out as the owner walked through the doorway into the living room to meet Usami and her brother standing there. "It has been a long time, hasn't it Ryokurio." Sachiko spoke with a smile. "Kind of brings back old times, no?"

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Zergo**  
3500/3500/9/Demon/Dark  
This card requires three sacrifices to summon unless you sacrifice two monsters with Zergo's in their title. When this card is removed from the field in any form, special summon from your hand, deck, or graveyard one Zergo's True Form.

Yukio: "Wow, being asleep for five years sure makes you miss a lot of things. One of mine was using this bad boy. He is one of the key cards in my deck, and a super power house on top of that. Though he isn't so good outside of a Zergo deck for the mere fact that it takes another body sacrificing to summon him. But in my deck, he is perfect. And though I was beaten this once with him on the field, it is rare and unlikely that it will happen again."

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	7. Sibling Rivalry

Episode 7: Sibling Rivalry

"You idiot!" Hygin scream, slamming his hand across the back of his tall fiend's head, knocking Archip forward and causing him to drop the phone book he was holding to the sidewalk below him. "What do you mean you can't find an address for him? How hard could it be?"

"Harder than you think." Archip growled, rubbing the back of his head. "I looked everywhere, there is no physical address for a Ronin Endo anywhere."

"You do realize that his last name is Endo, right?" Hygin bent over to pick up the phone book.

"I'm not stupid." Archip growled, but turned and made his way to a steel park bench that set off to the side of the street. "Though I can't say the same about some of the people here." He muttered under his breath as he watched Hygin flip through the phone book.

"And I'm not deaf." Hygin shot back, not looking up from the white pages of the book. He slowly flipped through the book, searching for the name of the man they were ordered to take out.

A few minutes passed like this, nothing happened between the two of them except the occasional turning of the page in the phone book. Finally, Hygin slammed the book shut and placed it back on the table in the phone booth. Turning, he walked to his partner.

"I couldn't find it either." He growled, his tall friend standing up with a gloating expression dawning his face. "Maybe he doesn't exist anymore. That is why he doesn't live anywhere. He must be dead!" Hygin stuck a gallant pose as he came to his conclusion.

"Or maybe he is just homeless." Archip threw in. Thinking for a second, he dripped his head down between his thumb and index finger. Looking at Hygin a new idea dawned on him. "Is it possible that he is living with someone else? What about that one woman he was dating the last time we knew him?"

"Um…" Hygin pulled a list out of his pocked that had a few names scratched on it. "You mean Sachiko Maeda?"

"If that's her name, then yes." Archip shrugged and walked back to the phone booth. Taking back out the phone book he flipped it open and began to look for said name. Hygin slowly wondered over and looked around Archip to the pages.

* * *

Kiro set on Akina's and Reku's couch, his arms crossed as he stared intently at the two people sitting on a chair. Reku was in the chair, Akina sitting on the arm of it and bracing herself against him. Next to Kiro on the couch sat Kaira, also looking on at Reku as he continued to speak.

"So you see," he continued, looking down at the floor, "my friends and I have been given an increadable force. These cards are infused with the power of an ancient crystal that somehow appeared on this earth over 10,000 years ago. That is about all we know about it, that and it works to unlock the true power of Duel Monsters." Holding up his crystal card, he flipped it over so that Kiro and Kaira could see it. "Mine is the Ruby Crystal, but there are other types. Each coming with a unique power of their own."

"I see." Kiro scratched his chin, his hand still in the yellow work glove. "So there was more to you guys than I first though. You seemed to be a part of something, like, a war of this crystal."

"Yeah." Akina nodded, looking down at Reku before bringing her head back up to look at their guests. "This demon has revived him self. He goes by the name Freyr, and along with his servants; Thoth and Dementia, he plans to take the crystal for himself." Closing her eyes for a second, she took a deep breath. Peeling open her eyes slightly, she glanced down at the floor. "Though we don't know what his plan is as of yet."

"Now it's your turn." Reku pointed to Kiro. "Explain to us what is up with you. You're not as normal as we first thought either."

"No, I'm no longer normal."

Kiro slowly removed the shades that were covering his eyes. Reku and Akina shrank back slightly seeing Kiro's inhuman eyes again. The red iris eyes with streaks running off of it sent chills down Reku's and Akina's spine. Kiro then proceeded to pull off the yellow work gloves one at a time. Underneath were solid black, ridged and spiky fingers, with red, metallic looking palms. Lime green lines cracked their way across the fingers as well as the palm and the back of his hand. Smoothly, Kiro pushed back the hood of his jacket to show a mess of green hair underneath. Ruffling up the sides of his hair, he exposed two pointed, elf looking ears.

"About five years ago I was involved in a horrible war of my own." Kiro began, his voice solemn as he spoke. "I had spirits that lived within by mind, and in order to release them into the world, I had to complete ten trials. These trials were a battle of life or death, and only if I passed all ten could I release their spirits." Sighing, Kiro looked down at the floor as well. "These spirits were demons. Three of the oddest demons I have ever met, but they were demons none-the-less.

"One night, while in the middle of a trial…a terrible accident happened. I lost my control, and rage engulfed me. The demonic energy of the three spirits in my body merged with me, and turned me into this." Kiro looked up at astonished faces. "I'm now a demon as well."

Silence followed as the final words Kiro spoke finally sunk in. Reku looked at Akina, who gave him a look of just plain 'wow'. Looking back, Reku smiled.

"You know though, we've seen some pretty crazy shit in our time. You just seemed to be added to that list." He gave a chuckle as it was Kaira's and Kiro's turn to be astounded. Akina even gave a little giggle at this. Reku just continued to speak. "Trust me; I think you'll probably be meeting some of our friends before this whole thing is over. You'll see were no stranger to weird stuff."

"Though I can't say that I'm not surprised." Akina threw in. "You're really only the second demon we've met today. The first being Freyr. But still, it's quite abnormal to meet things like this out of the blue. Seems were magnets for some odd-ball events and creatures."

"It sounds like you have…" Kaira began, but stopped when Kiro raised his arm up. Looking at him, he seemed to be glaring at the front door of the house. His fangs bared, and growling slightly. Kaira leaned over, speaking softly to him. "What's the matter Kiro?"

"Someone is approaching, and I sense darkness around them from within." He spoke in a low growl. The whole scene reminded Reku and Akina of a dog, growling at an intruder to his yard. Though this dog could talk, and wasn't really a dog. "But, they aren't a person of darkness like some of them are; I sense a good in them."

"You can sense bad and good in a person?" Reku stood up, Akina soon following as she lost her brace.

"It's not one of my strongest senses…but in a round about way, yes I can." Kiro stood up, slowly moving towards the front window. Walking across the street was a figure in a pure white robe. They were aiming towards the house next door, meaning that they were looking for Kiro. "Looks like I have a guest." He growled, moving towards the door. Pulling it open, he stepped outside, fully exposed to the world still uncovered.

The figure stopped, looking over at Kiro standing in the doorway of the neighboring house. They visibly shrank back at the sight of him, but stood up straight, continuing to walk, this time towards him. Sliding to a complete stop once Reku, Akina and Kaira appeared in the doorway behind the demonic creature.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Kiro snarled. Slowly, the figure lifted its hand so it was pointing at Kiro, then snapping its arm backwards so it was pointing with its thumb back over its shoulder. "You want me to follow you?"

The figure nodded again, turning and beginning to walk away in the direction it was pointing.

"I'll be back." Kiro announced over his shoulder to the rest of the group. "They just want me to come alone. You wait here; I'll be back as soon as I can." And with that, Kiro took off at a very slow pace for him, keeping his distance behind the robed figure.

"Will he be alright?" Akina asked, looking at Kaira who just nodded with a large smile on her face.

"Of course, Kiro, more than anyone I know, can take perfect care of himself." And with that, the three of them moved back into the house, closing the door behind them. "He wouldn't let anything happen to himself. Nothing is really out of his control, with his supernatural abilities and all."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Reku scratched his chin with his fingers as he thought about what he had just learned about the young man. "But, if he's a demon, and he had demons' in his body that he let out, how can we be trustworthy of him?" Looking back at the two women in the house with him. "I mean, with that kind of power, what's stopping him from doing whatever he wants….or those other demons as well?"

* * *

Kiro rounded the corner of an old metal building, leading him into a square area, devoid of any buildings. He had been lead quite a distance from his home, into a warehouse district that wasn't too far from his house, but wasn't close either. There, in the area stood the robed figure, looking at him.

"So, you've led me here." Kiro walked over so that he was standing directly across from the white robed person. His tennis shoes kicked up some dust as he came to a total stop on the dirt floor of the boxed in area. "I can sense you don't want to hurt me, and that you can't anyways. You realize my power surpasses you by mass amounts."

"Yes." A female's voice rang out from under the white hood of the cloak. "I do not intend to hurt you at all, rather talk."

"If you desired to talk, why did you have to drag me all the way out here?" Kiro motioned with his head back towards his house. "Why couldn't we have talked back there?"

"Because," reaching up, the woman took a hold of her hood and pulled it back to reveal her delicate face. Long, green hair fell out of the back and fell softly against the back of her white robes. "Those people you were with would recognize me, and I couldn't risk that." Closing her eyes, she sighed and looked back up at Kiro. "Not yet anyways."

"And what do you want from me?" Kiro growled, growing slightly annoyed with this strange woman that had dragged him out here and was wasting his time.

"You may have changed on the outside, but your temper never has been quelled." She smiled warmly at Kiro, causing his frown to deepen. "Even though you were still young then, you haven't changed over the years. You were probably too young to remember me, my name is Chime."

"I've never met you before." Kiro spat out, vile in his voice. "So, Chime, what the hell do you want with me."

"I am here to tell you, since you obviously forgotten, that I, Kiro, am your sister." Raising her arm, she let it hang in mid-air, palm up. The sleeve of the robe fell back from the strange angle her arm was held, her delicate fingers in a motioning manner at Kiro. "I've come looking for you, brother."

"Brother!" Kiro shrank back, surprised and disgusted at the same time. "Lady, who ever you are, you're nuts. I don't have any sister, and you'd be best to remember that, got it?"

"I know the truth, and I shall remember that first and foremost." Chime let her arm fall to her side, he head slowly bowing downwards. "My name is Chime Rinku, and I am indeed your sister, first born daughter of Kimberly and Charles Rinku. Our parents."

"Who are you?" Kiro was growing annoyed again. "I mean, who are you really."

"I just told you." Chime lifted her left hand upwards, letting her robe roll back with gravity. "And I see that you refuse to believe me yet. I did come for a reason Kiro, and I intend to see it through." On her left wrist sat some sort of green, circular gadget with a fin off to the left side. Kiro assumed it was some strange model of duel disk as he could see a navy blue screen for life points. "Let's put a bet out there. We can duel, and if I win, you must accept the fact that I am your sister, and I will provide all the proof you want."

"And when I win?" Kiro was actually growing interested. Something about this woman was different. What if she was telling the truth?

"I'll leave you be. And you can go on with your life believing you were an only child." The fin on her duel disk popped upwards, creating a end point for a spine that shot out downwards until it come to a sharp point at the end. This was her dueling field.

"Agreed then." Kiro lifted his left arm, which still had his duel disk on it as well. From the side of it, the little projectors that rested there produced the pure light dueling field. Taking his deck out of the slot on his duel disk, he gave it a quick shuffling before slamming it back into the hole. "Take it away then. I don't have all day."

"Very well then brother." Chime spoke almost solemnly as she shuffled her own deck of cards. Placing them back into her duel disk she pulled the top five cards off and fanned them out. "I will begin then, draw!" She snapped the sixth card off her deck and whipped it across the air.

Kiro-4000 LP  
Chime-4000 LP

"Doomed Blood (900/1700) in face-up defense mode is my opening monster." Chime slapped a yellow bordered card onto her duel disk, the image appearing on the field before her in the form of a horizontal turned card. From the image of the card, a metallic white monster appeared, made completely of some kind of liquid. It was humanoid in shape, crossing its arms across its chest for protection. "And set this one card face-down for later."

Behind the metallic slime creature appeared a brown backed card.

"Then it's my turn." Kiro announced, snapping six cards off the top of his deck and fanning them out in front of his face. "I'll summon my Gravekeeper's Watcher (1000/1000)."

Over a horizontal turned card appeared a young, Egyptian monster holding a stone tablet in its hands. His black robes flowing in the wind of the area.

"And set this card down as well." Kiro slid another card from his hand into his duel disk. In a ripple of light, it formed behind his crouching monster. "This ends my turn."

"Don't take me lightly brother." Chime slid the top card off of her deck, holding it between her delicate fingers. "I'm not as week as I know you are assuming I am. I am the top duelist in underground circuit, and I am in that top spot for a reason." Turning the card, she showed its face to Kiro before sliding it into her duel disk. "I activate the magic card; Bait Doll. This card forces the activation of one of your cards, and if you can't use it, then it goes instantly to your graveyard."

"What?" Kiro watched as the card appeared behind her single monster. Glowing, the green bordered card sent out a burst of light, wrapping itself around the card resting on Kiro's field. Pushing with extreme force, the card was pushed up to reveal Kiro's Negate Attack trap card.

"Negate Attack works only during the battle phase." Chime closed her eyes, letting a smile creep across her face. "Meaning the timing of activation is incorrect. So now it goes to your graveyard."

Kiro shielded himself while his purple bordered card exploded like a rock hitting glass, sending triangles shattering from the card and crashing all about the field.

"And then there is the second effect of my Bait Doll." Chime pulled out her deck of cards, and the green bordered card that was in her duel disk. "When it is used, it instantly goes back to my deck instead of going into the graveyard." Placing the card back on top of her deck, she started to shuffle it.

"Are you quite done yet?" Kiro questioned, watching Chime slid the stack of cards back into the appropriate slot on her duel disk. "I'm growing quite bored."

"Well, then maybe I should spice up this game." Reaching down, she slowly turned her normal monster card so it was now sitting in a vertical position on her duel disk. "I shift my Doomed Blood into attack mode. Then I summon a monster known as Bloodstream Knight in attack mode as well (1300/1000)."

A human monster appeared on the field before Chime, his body wrapped completely in crimson red, metallic armor. Even his face was concealed behind a mask that was black and a red helmet that covered the rest of his head. In his right hand he held a long, curved, pure white sword that gleamed even brighter in the sunlight. Swinging it about, the monster let out annoying grunts that consumed the area.

"This monster is more than enough to deal with your monster." Chime informed Kiro, waving her arm out towards the monster. "Bloodstream Knight attack! Wipe out his monster with your mighty sword!"

Obeying, Chime's small warrior monster charged across the field, slicing his sword through the air and bringing it across the chest of the Egyptian monster that set on Kiro's side of the field. The stone tablet that was in his hands shattered, sending a spree of tan chunks of rock across the field, followed by blood curdling screams from the monster who was grabbing its chest. Seconds latter, the Gravekeeper's Watcher exploded.

Kiro-4000 LP  
Chime-5000 LP

"My Bloodstream Knight's effect activates. When he destroys a monster in battle, it increases my life points by the attack of the monster it destroyed. Since that is 1000 in this case, that is the amount my life points go up." Chime moved her arm so she was pointing at the smaller monster on her field. "And now my Doomed Blood will get a chance. Attack him now!"

Cupping its 'hands', the humanoid shaped white liquid shot a stream of itself out of its palms. Racing across the field, the liquid smashed into Kiro's chest and caused him to slide backwards on the dirt floor. Grunting with the impact, Kiro dug in his heel's to prevent himself from sliding back any further.

Kiro-3100 LP  
Chime-5000 LP

"And that concludes my turn." Chime finally rested her arm rest, crossing it with her other arm the best she could with her duel disk still there. "Alright dear brother, it is your move. I'm waiting for anything you are willing to throw at me.

"I'm not your brother, and I will throw what I need at you to deafeat you in this duel." Placing his fingers on his deck, he slowly slid the top card off and added it to his own hand. "I set one monster and two cards on my field." Kiro announced, slapping the one monster on his duel disk face-down. The, just as fast, he slid in two cards from his hand in his duel disk. The cards appeared in that arrangement before Kiro. "I end my turn." Kiro looked up, his eyes piercing right through the calm woman on the opposite side of the field.

"Don't glare at me Kiro." Chime, still smiling, informed her opponent. Drawing the top card from her deck, her emerald green eyes darted from Kiro to the face of the card she had drawn. "Nothing of value in this move." She said aloud, adding the card to her hand. "Now I'll just send in my Bloodstream Knight to attack your set monster."

"No, you _think_ your sending in your monster to attack mine, when instead, I'm going to be putting your monsters' on the defensive! Activate trap!" Kiro announced, snapping his arm down to one of his two set cards. "Windstorm of Etaqua!"

One of his two set cards flipped up, revealing a picture of a black bird flying against a green sky. From the image, a large gale force wind blasted forth. Both of Chime's monsters's crossed their arms to brace themselves against the winds, causing them both to fall to their knees.

"I guess that makes my turn come to an end." Chime bowed her head, looking at her two defending monsters on her field. "Nice move, what ever you have face-down on your field there must be important to use a trap card like that to protect it."

"No more special than any other card." Kiro grinned, sliding a third card into his hand, his draw for the turn. "Just a little something I needed to stick around. But before I get to that, allow my to flip him up into the light so you may see him." Picking up the card, Kiro slapped it back down on his duel disk, the image of the card on the field before him doing the exact same thing. "I flip summon Cat of Ill Omen (500/300)!"

A rather fat, black cat appeared on the field from the overturned card. Around its neck it war an expensive golden collar. As well as a golden ring around its tail. Meowing loudly, the cat extended its claws out of its black paws, scratching the dirt below it.

"Its effect lets me place one trap card onto of my deck." Kiro explained, pulling out his deck of cards and fanning it out before him. Pulling one of the cards he saw out, he folded his deck back together and slid the card on top of it. With a smirk at Chime, he slid the deck back into his deck slot. "And on my next turn, I'll get to draw that trap card."

"That's good for you." Chime shrugged, not sure if she was supposed to be impressed that her brother had just rigged his draw. And did it fairly! Looking up, she stared at the green haired boy that stood across from her. "Alright then, you said you had a purpose of saving your cat, now what kind of move do you have in store for me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kiro slid one of his cards from his hand and slapped it down on his duel disk. "I plan to sacrifice it in order to summon out this monster." Appearing in a holographic form behind the black cat, the leader of the Gravekeeper's, in card form, appeared. "Gravekeeper's Chief (1900/1200)!"

With a rush of energy, the card image sucked in the waiting black cat without a fight. Glowing brightly, the card shot out the image of a tan, Egyptian man wearing black and white robe, flapping wildly as he flew through the air. Landing on the dirt floor, the man straightened up, twirling a golden, snake head staff about in his fingers.

Next to him, the younger tan monster appeared wielding his stone tablet like before. Crouching down, the image of his own card appeared below him.

"The special ability of my Chief lets me revive my Gravekeeper's Watcher (1000/1000) in defense mode." Kiro was lifting his hand up from the horizontal card he had just placed on his duel disk. Smirking, his arm soon turned into an outstretched finger pointing at the monsters on Chime's field. "Go my Chief, attack her Doomed Blood and wipe it out!"

Snapping its snake-head staff up, the monster sent a blast of golden light from the tip towards the gel beast, engulfing it in the light. A shattering noise echoed off the metal plate walls of the surrounding warehouses as the monster burst apart into tiny data fragments.

"And that looks to end my turn." Kiro crossed his arms, his Chief lowering its staff down to its side. "I posses one of my strongest monsters on the field at the moment, and I highly doubt you can pull something out of nowhere that can beat him."

"We shall see." Chime calmly drew the top card of her deck, looking at its face. _"One of my best cards. Looks like I'm not totally out of luck yet. I was about to resort to drastic measures before I drew this."_ Flipping the card around in her hand, she slapped it down on an empty spot on her duel disk. "I summon forth this: Revival Slime (1500/500)! Defense mode!"

Before her, on a horizontal orange bordered card appeared a blue gelatinous mass of a monster. Its eyes as well as mouth were black, and were just indents in the side of the slime monster. Its body seemed to always be in motion, stretching out its sides only to have them bounce back into a shave and another part of its body stretching out.

"And I move my Bloodstream Knight to attack mode." Chime announced, sliding the card on her green duel disk into a vertical position. "And I think its time to take out your Chief monster! Attack now my Bloodstream Knight!" Taking a card from her hand, she quickly slid it into her duel disk behind the monster.

"Committing suicide huh?" Kiro smirked as he watched the monster become airborne, jumping to add momentum to its attack. Kiro's eyes widened as the monster started to glow, growing more powerful (2000/1000).

"Quick-play magic card activate; Rush Recklessly! This card gives an additional 700 attack points to my monster." Chime had her eyes closed, waiting for the sounds of her monster cutting through the body of the defending Gravekeeper's Chief.

She smiled as she herd the sword cutting through, causing a typical explosion sound as the monster was destroyed. Opening her eyes, she awaited to see her victory over Kiro's powerful monster. Instead, she saw the Chief monster standing on the field unharmed, though it was standing alone.

"I activated my set card." Kiro announced, pleased to see Chime's confused look. "Its call Shift and it moved the attack of your monster to my other monster, destroying it instead." Kiro held up the Gravekeeper's Watcher card as well as the said purple bordered card before sliding them into his graveyard. "Nice try through. You almost took out my Chief card."

"It doesn't matter really." Chime smirked, holding up her duel disk. "Though your strong monster still lives, the effect of my Bloodstream Knight did kick in, giving me another power boost to my life points equal to that of the attack on Gravekeeper's Watcher."

Kiro-3100 LP  
Chime-6000 LP

"And that will end my turn." She announced, her monster lowering its sword, waiting for its next battle. Its attack points had dropped once again to their 1300 point, showing that the effect of Rush Recklessly had finally had worn off.

"Fine then, Draw!" Sliding the top card off his deck, Kiro knew exactly what to expect. _"This little card will put a hindrance on her."_ Smirking at the trap card he had grabbed with his Cat of Ill Omen, he slid it into his duel disk. "I set this one card face-down on my field before my Gravekeeper's Chief attacks your Bloodstream Knight!"

Lifting its staff again, the Gravekeeper send a blast of golden energy from the tip racing towards the awaiting monster. Seconds turned to minutes in the mind of Kiro as he watched the blast hit smack dab right in the middle of the chest of the blue blob monster that has jumped in to intercept the attack. The monster blasted apart instantly, sending blobs of slime everywhere.

"Trap card open!" Chime smirked, pointing to her up righted trap card. "Slime Defender works like this: While I have a face up Revival Slime on my side of the field, this card will force it to intercept all attacks from the opponents." Chime held up her green circular duel disk showing the life point total to Kiro. "And my Revival Slime's ability kicks in. I will now offer 1000 life points for a fee, in order for my monster to live up to its name."

Kiro-3100 LP  
Chime-5000 LP

"It's going to revive itself." Kiro realized as Chime lowered her duel disk back down so it was resting horizontally before her.

"Bingo." Chime smirked, waiting for Kiro to finish his move. "You're really not stupid brother. Despite your rash nature, you do pretty well in problem solving in battle. It's been one of your greatest strengths. Ever since you were a little kid."

"Shut up." Kiro growled, lowering his duel disk to his side. "You don't know what I was like when I was a little kid, and you don't know me." His lips curled upwards, showing his pearly white fangs. "And you are not my sister. Now take your turn!"

"I will dear brother, and prove to you that I am indeed your very own flesh and blood." Sliding the top card from her deck, her slime monster began to form on her field again. The blobs of slime that had been blasted all about the field began to reform on, sucking it the parts that rested across the field into a massive slime ball. Soon, it took the familiar shape of the Revival Slime, hovering inches over its orange bordered card sitting horizontally on Chime's field.

"_She paid 1000 of her life points to revive a monster with only 500 defense points. True, as long as there is that Slime Defender trap card face-up on her field, she'll be able to intercept one of my attacks."_ Kiro smiled a bit as he though. _"She'll be helpless against any additional attacks I may throw against her!"_

"Magic card activate." Chime flipped one of the cards from her hand over, revealing a green bordered card with three green balls of slime resting behind golden podiums on the card image. The three podiums set in front of a white panel with number increasing growing from the top left hand corner and spreading outwards. "Slime Multiplication Tables! A magic card that lets me special summons up to two monsters with Slime in their name from my deck, the only condition is that they have to have 1000 or less defense points, and must appear on my field in defense mode."

Pulling out her deck, Chime quickly fanned it out and found two cards she was looking for. Quickly pulling them out, she slapped them down on her duel disk.

"And my two choices are two more Revival Slimes (1500/500)x2." Chime's two cards appeared next to their brethren, all three of the gelatinous blobs resting above their horizontal card images. "Giving me a pretty substantial wall against your attacks, wouldn't you say?"

"_Spoke too soon."_ Kiro shrank down, disappointed that his planning just backfired with one simple card. Though, had it? Kiro perked right up, staring at the three blue blobs that were on his opponent's field. _"In order to use their effects, she has to give up 1000 life points a piece. That could get costly in a very short amount of time."_

"I'll just set one card on my field, ending my move." Chime announced, sliding one more card into her duel disk. The hologram appeared before her as a brown backed card.

* * *

Akina looked out of the window to the paved street that lay beyond her patch of green grass. The sun was finally starting to set on the longest day for her in a while. Though, she had a bad feeling welling up in the pit of her stomach that this was only the beginning of long days to come.

"Will he be ok?" She turned, talking to Kaira who was sitting on the couch in the living room. "I mean, I know he's a demon and all, and I'm sure he can take perfect care of himself, but…with all that has happened, isn't it possible that something could happen to him."

"I think you underestimate the power he has." Kaira smiled at Akina, begging with her eyes for the sandy blond haired woman to come and sit back down. "I can understand your worry about him though; you have no clue what he's had to go through." Taking up the offer that was silently proposed, Akina moved across the room and sat down in one of the chairs. "He's been put in danger more times than I care to count, from people who were all out to kill him."

"For these trials he talked about?" Akina leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. "And, he had to kill every one of them to pass, right?"

"Right." Kaira sighed. "So much killing would normally warp a person's mind, but, Kiro had to be strong, and last through it, or he wouldn't be where he is today." Her sentence suddenly dropped, her eyes locked on some invisible spot on the carpet.

Akina dared not say anything; she could read all she needed to know in the sad, distant look that has seeped into Kaira's eyes. She was reliving some moments in her life, most likely during these said trials, where Akina assume it was very painful for her. She wondered how deep this friendship between Kiro and Kaira really was.

Reku sat in a dark room, looking out the window that was providing the only light. His finger interlaced, he had his elbows pulled back into his hips. Sitting on some small stepping stool by a bed, his bed.

Ronin still was lying in the bed unconscious, his body twitching from time to time. A mere streak of horror still placed on his face, though his eyes were closed. Next to him on the bed sat his folded up, emerald green duel disk.

"Something happened to you." Reku whispered, his eyes darting up to Ronin's face. "There wasn't any black magic in that duel that I could see around us, but maybe she had put some in her monsters." He glared at Ronin, angry at Dementia who had beaten him so easy, and so flawlessly in her final turn. "You've lost duels before, but none have knocked you out like this. There was something amiss in that duel."

Ronin still lay there, unmoving, though subconsciously he could hear Reku's words. It caused him to relax slightly, his face finally taking on a more peaceful state. Reku noticed this, smiling slightly before shifting his eyes to look out the window again.

"Why did this have to start?" His eyes fixating on a tree that was out side of the window, watching the leaves slowly blowing in the breeze as the blue sky behind it was starting to change to a fainter color. "It seems as thought this is going to be hell on us." He closed his eyes, his smile still on his face as he continued to speak. "Just like old times, eh buddy?"

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**  
CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Revival Slime**  
1500/500/4/Water/Aqua  
When this card is sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, you can pay 1000 Life Points. Then, Special Summon this card in face-up Defense Position during your next Standby Phase.

Kiro: "Looks like this card is pretty powerful and a bit more dangerous than I first gave it credit for. If Chime can use her deck right, this could be an invaluable card. Being able to revive itself after any attack at the cost of 1000 life points. Combining it with cards like Slime Defender is a key strategy for this card, forcing to become the front for any attack. Let's see if I can manage to get past this card shall we?"

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	8. Reason of her Determination

Episode 8: Reason of her Determination.

Kiro stared at the three faces of the blob monsters that rested on the opposite side of the field as well as the small knight monster. Curling up his lip slightly to bear his pearly white fang, a bead of sweat followed the curved lines his face made, trickling its way down to his neck.

"_Her Revival Slimes will protect her from any attack I launch at her and come back time and time again. But in doing so, it's going to cost her 1000 life points. That gives me an opening to burn her down."_ Kiro slowly drew the top card of his deck, flipping it over so he could see its face. Adding it to the other two cards he already held, he planned to save it for latter. "Gravekeeper's Chief attack! Take out her Bloodstream Knight!"

Snapping its staff outwards, the tan Egyptian man smirked at he sent waves of energy through his fingertips to the end of the staff. A ball of golden light began to form at the tip, burst off seconds later and racing across the field towards the awaiting monster.

"Sorry brother but I reveal my trap card!" Chime snapped her hand down towards the face-down card she had waiting on her field. "This card is called Enchanted Javelin, and it will give me more strength to my life points."

Kiro-3100 LP  
Chime-6900 LP

"What?" Kiro's eyes widened as Chime's life points shot upwards again. His golden blast of energy still racing through the air at the knight monster, only to smash head first into one of the blue blob monsters resting on Chime's field.

"Enchanted Javelin gives me life points equal to your attacking monsters attack points. And then the effect of my Slime Defender kicks in, throwing my Revival Slime in front of your attack."

Kiro-3100 LP   
Chime-5900 LP

"And I'll pay out the 1000 points needed to revive it during my next standby phase." Chime continued to speak, her life points making the needed adjustments. "So, got anything else planned for this turn?"

"No, it's your move now." Kiro growled, angry that his opponent just upped their life points in that attack rather than his plan to make her lose life points. _"She's stronger than I've been giving her credit for. Not a lot of people could hold the field like she is doing with the type of cards that she is and still be gaining life points."_

"Alright then, I will just draw my card first." Chime slowly slid the top card off her deck, glancing at its face before adding to her hand. "And second; my Revival Slime returns to my field in defense mode." Her third gelatinous blob appeared next to its brethren on Chime's side of the field. "And that is my turn as a whole."

"Draw!" Kiro snapped the top card from his deck, whipping it through the air and glancing at its face. His eyes widened at what he saw. _"This could be helpful."_ Taking the card, he slashed it through the air towards his dueling plate. "Magic card activate; Black Poison of Snakes! This card, when used upon one of my monsters, will give it the unique ability to infect any monster it can happen to destroy, allowing me to take control of that monster during my end phase."

"I see." Chime nodded, watching as a raven-black pillar took the outline of a snake behind Kiro's Chief monster. Blasting out into streams of energy, the black serpent wrapped itself around Kiro's monster, and was absorbed into the golden staff, slowly turning the surface black.

"Attack one of her Revival Slimes!" Kiro yelled, snapping his head towards the middle of the three slime creatures. His monster snapping its staff down like it had done so many times before, sending a blast of energy from the tip of it. This time thought, the energy was solid black, and consumed the blob in an inky darkness that it just couldn't seem to escape from.

Exploding inside the attack, the monster was gone from Chimes field instantly. With the use of the attack, Kiro's monster had his staff slowly turning its shiny gold colour once again.

"_Since my monster will just be taken to his side of the field, it is quite pointless for me to pay to revive it."_ Chime contemplated, biting her thumb nail as she watched Kiro snap his arm across his body.

"I end there." And with that, the blobs of the gel monster began to reform on Kiro's side of the field. Chime was now staring into the face of one of her very own monsters turned against her.

"Turning my monsters against me, huh dear brother?" Chime smirked, sliding the top card off of her own deck. "You always were kind of selfish, taking for yourself and never sharing. You were probably too young to remember, but we used to play together, up at the temple, while our dear parents were looking for a home of their own as well as waiting for you to grow up to inherit the family legacy."

"Will you stop talking as if you know me? You are _not_ my sister!" Kiro snapped back, tightly curling up his fingers on his right hand into a fist. Around his body, a red vapor could be seen seeping off into the evening air. "You're really starting to piss me off with all this talk of 'brother' and 'siblings', but I am an only child! Learn it and learn it well!"

"Will you ever grow up and get rid of that thick skull of yours?" Chime cocked her head, rubbing her chin with the heal of her thumb. "Let me tell you something, you are my brother, we share the same blood line, we share the same family history, and we do share the same last name. We are too brother and sister, and I'm here to make sure you know that very well."

"Why?" Kiro's energy was starting to become destructive, tearing up the ground in a circle radius around where he was standing. Dirt was starting to swirl around the young man as he grew angrier and angrier.

"I have my reasons." Chime just let her right hand fall back to her side, her delicate, pale fingers limp. "And as of yet you don't have any reason at all to need to know what these reasons are. So instead, I'll just continue my move by sacrificing my Bloodstream Knight in order to summon forth White Blood Cell Warrior (2100/1000)!"

The small knight monster was soon engulfed in a pillar of up rushing yellow light, breaking its data apart instantly, but quickly sucking it back together, taking a completely different form. This monster had dark skin, wearing solid white armor that covered all of its body save its face and its arms. In its hands it held a sword hilt and a silver blade that looked like it was sawed in half vertically from the top. On its face, the black bearded man glared at Kiro's field.

"Attack his Chief monster now!" Chime ordered, snapping her hand out towards the Egyptian warrior who had been decimating the monsters on her field for the past couple of turns. Now it was her turn for some payback. Taking another card from her hand, she quickly slid it into her duel disk. "Instant magic card activate; Shrink! This will cut your monsters attack points in half for this turn."

"What!" Kiro gasped, his monster suddenly becoming a dwarf before his eyes. Shrinking down to half its original size within a matter of seconds, the now miniature monster crossed its staff across its body in a feeble attempt to protect itself (950/1200).

With a running charge, the newly summoned monster began to bear down on Kiro's Chief monster. The half of the blade that was missing from his sword began to glow, spitting out small white disks that flared out like cold flames. Swinging the sword across its body, the disks created a tail to follow the attack, slashing through the Egyptian man and causing him to explode instantly.

Kiro-1950 LP  
Chime-5900 LP

Kiro had to shield himself from the dust and debris that was kicked up from the explosion of his monster. Growling slightly, he bared his fangs so that he was sure Chime could see. His energy less violent now, but still seeping off his body, and blowing back from the wind generated from the attack against his monster. Lowering his arms, he glared at Chime with his demonic eyes, sending chills down her spine.

"Kiro!" She screamed, wrapping her arms around her body for warmth. "Don't look at me like that! You're seriously freaking me out!" Chime was visibly shaking from the glare that Kiro was giving her, adverting her eyes so she couldn't see him. _"Those eyes have the intent to kill within their walls."_

"Good." Kiro let his arms rest again in front of him. "You should fear me, maybe then you'll realize that if you're going to play these dumb ass games with me, you are going to get hurt." Placing his black fingers on the top card of his deck, Kiro drew his next card.

"You wouldn't hurt your own flesh and blood." Chime snapped her head back to the green haired demon that stood across the field from her. "I'll have you know that deep down you do love me. The first word you ever spoke was 'sister'!" Chime snapped her arm though the air. "We are family, and I will prove it here. Only your life points will drop to zero to show you the truth."

"Wrong, and this monster will prove it." Kiro snapped a card from his hand, landing it perfectly on his duel disk. "I summon the powerful monster known as Gravekeeper Kiro (1800/1100)!"

The card form a holographic image next to Kiro, spitting out a spree of yellow and white sparks. Raining down over the field, the sparks began to collide and form a being of solid light, human shaped and obviously very well built. Blasting away from its body with a rush of energy, the lights left a tan, Egyptian man standing on Kiro's field. It didn't have a shirt on, just a very toned torso, and baggy pants made of black fabric. His green hair hung down over a pair of reddish eyes on the stoic face.

"You…have…a…card named after you?" Chime was in shock at the sight of the card that she now was facing. _"Not only that, but…it looks like what I would imagine Kiro would look like if he was still human. But how did he get it? Did he obtain it through the sacred trials that he had to perform in?"_

"And it comes with more power than you could possibly image." Kiro cried out, his deck folded out in his right hand. With his left hand, his cards tucked under into his palm, he pulled out one of the cards and instantly stuck it into the side of his duel plate. "Gravekeeper Kiro allows me to activate from anywhere my field magic card; Necrovalley!"

Large stone walls began to rise around the dueling field, kicking up a wave of dirt with its rush skyward. The holographic canyon stretched and twisted off into the distance in both directions, leaving only darkness beyond its first bend. White, ghastly fog began to siphon into the valley, covering the ground like a thick, high cut chunk of grass.

Kiro's Gravekeeper monster began to roar with the incredible power flowing through its blood stream. Flexing its muscles, the monster let out a long winded roar into the darkness of the valley around it. (2300/1600)

"Time for you to feel the power I posses!" Kiro snapped his arm down, pointing towards the large, white armored monster on Chime's field. "Attack her monster now Gravekeeper Kiro! Teach it a lesson it won't soon forget!" Launching itself in the air, the tan monster raced down the corridor created by the valley, winding its fist back to smack Chime's monster into next week.

"Intercept my Revival Slime!" Chime bellowed, whipping her arm out to the side. One of her two remaining slime creatures obeyed, jumping in front of the attack and blasting apart once the rock hard fist smashed into the center of its 'body' structure. "And I'll pay my life points to have it revive during my next turn." Chime continued, letting her outstretched arm rest again.

Kiro-1950 LP  
Chime-4900 LP

"But that's not all." Kiro smirked as his avatar monster landed before him once again, cracking its knuckles. "Gravekeeper's effect kicks in. When it destroys a monster, for ever monster on my field with Gravekeeper in its title, you'll take 200 points of direct damage. This," Kiro motioned to his tan monster with his head, "includes himself."

Kiro-1950 LP  
Chime-4700 LP

"And then I'll have Revival Slime attack your defending Revival Slime!" Kiro continued, snapping his arm towards the identical blob creature. The one occupying space on Kiro's field took off at flying speeds towards Chime's monsters, engulfing it whole and squeezing in until the sound of shattering glass could be heard and small data bits floated out into the evening air.

"I won't pay to have this slime monster revive!" Chime continued, holding up her green duel disk. "It looks as if I might need to conserve life points and change my strategy some, since you are starting to play a bit better than I first thought you would."

"Whatever." Kiro just waved his arm across his body. "No matter what you try, you won't be able to beat me and my power. So just try it." Kiro's smug attitude this time was to cover up a small bit of anger and frustration he was feeling for Chime's monster. _"Revival Slime's effect doesn't target itself in the graveyard, meaning that Necrovalley, as strong as it is, won't be able to stop its revival." _

"Draw!" Chime snapped the top card off her deck, watching with pride as the globs of slime that had been blasted all across the field once again began to form together in front of her to create her indestructible monster. "Magic card activate!" Chime snapped the card she had drawn down and slid it into her duel disk. "This card is known as Crimson Blood Draw, and it only can work at the start of my first Main Phase. If my hand holds three cards or less," Chime held up her left hand to show that she was only holding two cards in it, "then I am allowed to draw three new cards at the cost of the rest of my turn."

Chime, one by one, drew the next three cards from her deck and fanned them out in her right hand. A smile crept across her face as she saw what cards she was now holding. She saw the potential that she could gain some serious ground now.

"Then it would be my turn." Kiro snapped the top card from his deck, holding it in front of his red eyes. "Perfect, this monster will not only rip your defenses apart, but take a major chunk from your life points as well." Slapping the card down on his duel disk of light, Kiro watched as the holographic card appeared before him. "You're the idiot who sacrificed a whole turn for three cards, so now you pay, I summon Gravekeeper's Assailant (1500/1500) (2000/2000)!"

Before Kiro appeared a black robed assassin, slashing a wavy, Egyptian style dagger through the air to prove its power. It moaned as the valley that surrounded the field began to give it power, seeping it through its skin and making the monster even more ferocious.

"Now for it to attack, the target being your Revival Slime!" Kiro whipped his arm to the side as his monster took a running leap at the slime creature. A blue aura floating around its metal blade, the monster snapped it forward aiming it at Chime's monster, who instantly switched to attack mode just in time to have the cold blade pierce through its body.

"What?" Chime yelled out seconds before her monster exploded, sending a wave of heat rushing across the field, followed by a rain of the blue slime.

"My monster can change the battle position of a monster on your field when it attacks." Kiro lifted both of his hands to praise his surroundings. "But only if I have my field magic card; Necrovalley active on my side of the field."

"Fine." Chime bit her lower lip, frustrated that Kiro scored such a good move against her. This was going to be more painful that she first thought. "I will still pay 1000 life points to get back my Revival Slime, as I will need him in my next round."

Kiro-1950 LP  
Chime-3200 LP

"Gravekeeper Kiro then attacks your White Blood Cell Warrior!" Kiro continued his attacks, sending his tan self into the fight with a battle cry being ripped from its lips. With increasable speed and accuracy, Gravekeeper Kiro ran its rock hard fist through the breast plate of the warrior.

Screaming in pain, the monster dropped its weapon to the dirt floor before, falling to its knees and clutching its chest. Gravekeeper Kiro, who had retracted his fist, bent at the knees and spring boarded back to his side of the field, leaving the monster to suffer before it exploded into small triangles of data.

Kiro-1950 LP  
Chime-2600 LP

"And of course, you feel the 400 points of extra damage for there being two Gravekeeper monsters on my side of the field." Kiro continued to explain as Chime watched her life point counter drop down to 2600. "But don't think I'm done yet! Revival Slime attacks your life points directly now! Feel the power of your own monster turned against you!" Kiro bellowed, sending the blue slime monster racing across the field towards Chime, smashing into her chest and causing her to slide backwards on the dirt.

Kiro-1950 LP  
Chime-1100 LP

"Ouch." Chime crossed her arms across her chest, feeling the impact shaking her rib cage.

"Some great duelist of the underground circuit." Kiro mocked, whipping his arm through the air. "Looks like you're no more than an armature once I get past your 'invincible' defense. I end my turn."

This brought Chime's emerald green eyes up in a death stare at Kiro. She let her body relax, no longer feeling the pain from her own attack. _"I'm a far better duelist than you think brother. You are the one who would almost for sure be eaten alive down there. Though…"_ Chime's right hand flexed a few times before becoming a fist. _"He's right about something. Some duelist I am. If I can't convince Kiro to help me, I will be completely kicked out of the underground circuit."_

_/Flashback/_

_Chime stood on one side of a pale coloured circle painted on the ground. A tough looking man stood across from her, his duel disk held high in front of him. He had on a long black jacket that matched his dark gray eyes. His hair was in a Mohawk, dyed lime green. _

_Both Chime and the strange opponent had metal gadgets strapped to their limbs, one around each wrist, one on each ankle and then ones strapped to their necks. Little red lights were glowing brightly on the front of each of the gum metal bindings._

_The two glared at each other for a short time, neither of them even paying attention to their surroundings anymore. The ring was completely caged in by a circular cage. Outside the cage sat risers with shadowed figures on it, cheering, hooting and hollering at the duelists trapped inside. _

"_HA! You never stood a change against me!" The man yelled out, holding up one of the cards in his hand. He quickly slapped it down on the duel disk, which upon closer inspection looked horrible. Large gashes were cut into the frame of the device; the screen where the life points were displayed was cracked, but still being able to read his life point score, being 1500 at the moment. "As I have proven in this game, I am far superior to you in every way."_

"_Just try it you ass hole." Chime retorted, snapping her arm through the air. Before her, she had two of her Revival Slimes in defense mode. "You can't get through my ultimate defense. I am the superior one!" _

"_No, your not, I make a double sacrifice!" The man announced, snapping his hand forward to show the holographic card appear the had just slapped down on his duel disk. Two shadowy monsters before him vanished in pillars of light. Once they were gone, a large, blue skinned Cyclops stood in their place. He had long orange hair hanging down past his chin, set out by the golden armor that traced its way in strands across the chest of the monster. "I summon Sengenjin (2750/2500) in attack mode!" Without wasting a breath, the man continued. "Attack!" _

_The behemoth of a monster stormed across the field, bringing its fist, which was larger than the Revival Slime as a whole, down upon the monster, running it into the ground. Crushing the monster instantly. _

"_I chose to pay my life points yet again to revive the monster." Chime continued, keeping her calm even though her monster was just gone. She cringed as a warm, tingling feeling ran through her blood stream. The gadgets on her body were sending electrical currents out into her skin. Black bolts of lightning shot off from the red light in the front. _

_Chime-4000 LP  
Man-1500 LP _

"_It won't matter; this game is already in the bag." The man boasted, holding up his tattered duel disk. "I'll just end my turn with my Sengenjin terrorizing the field."_

"_Terrorize my ass." Chime bellowed, snapping the top card off her deck and adding it to her hand. She quickly pulled out another one of her cards, just as her slime monster came back to the field as a whole. "I sacrifice my newly summoned Revival Slime to summon White Blood Cell Warrior, attack mode (2100/1000)!" _

"_Weak!" The man boasted again, placing his arms at his side. "That was a waste of a tribute, and you brought it in attack mode. What kind of an idiot are you?" _

"_One far smarter than you, dumb ass." Chime slide the other card on her duel disk around. "I switch Revival Slime to attack mode. Then activate the magic card Rush Recklessly on my White Blood Cell Warrior, giving it 700 more attack points (2800/1000). Attack his mental image incarnate on the field now!" Chime bellowed, slicing her finger through the air to point at the blue behemoth monster. Within seconds, the monster was exploding, sending waves of embers and dirt through the air. Chime's monster standing inches from where it used to be, its sword stretched outwards to the place where the monsters head once sat. _

_Chime-4000 LP   
Man-1450 LP _

"_Revival Slime finishes it." Chime announced, her blue blob monster rushing in from behind the warrior monster that was still standing in it striking position on the field. With little effort, the slime monster crashed into the chest of the man, sending him backwards into the gray bars of the surrounding cage. The black bolts of electricity blasted out from all five of the orbs on the man's bindings. His body jerked involuntary with the incredible amount of voltage begin suddenly shot through his limbs. _

_Chime-4000 LP  
Man-0 LP _

_Without missing a beat, Chime turned and walked to the edge of the ring, waiting impatiently for the cage to rise so she could leave. When it reached a decent height, she ducked under it and walked to an official waiting by the corridor that led out of the ring. With a long metal key, he unhooked Chime from the gadgets that bound her and she continued down the hallway without saying a word. _

_Opening a heavy metal door, Chime walked in and plopped down in a old recliner that was sitting in the dark stone room. Sighing, she lifted her left arm, pressing a button on the bottom side of the wrist gadget and pulling the duel disk off her arm. _

"_Chime baby!" A very annoying voice rang out from behind the green haired lady. "You work miracles out there on the field, anyone ever tell you that?" With a quick stride, the male owner of the voice walked up behind the young lady sitting in the chair and placed his left hand on her shoulder. _

"_Yes, you do every time I win, Tatashi. Which technically, you do it every time I leave the ring." Chime glared up at the man hovering over her. He was in a black business suit; his brown hair gelled over to one side of his egg shaped head. A pair of thin, oval shaped glasses rested on his brow as he looked down at the woman, refracting the dim light of the room. "It's not your job to ward away boredom, now do what you've come here to do." She growled at the man again, brushing his hand off her shoulder and extending her hand out to him with her palm up._

"_Your cut of the profits made tonight are all right here, Chime baby." The man, Tatashi, smirked; placing a large roll of cash into Chime's upturned hand. Taking it, she quickly stuck it into her pocket and looked back down at the duel disk sitting in her lap. "You sure know how to bring in the profits." _

"_Why are you still here Tatashi?" Chime was growing impatient with the man. "I've got my profits and I don't duel anymore tonight. How about you scurry away now?" _

"_I can't." Tatashi moved around so that he was in front of the young woman. "There is a bit of news that it's become apparent to me that you didn't know." Sitting back on a wooden table that was in front of Chime, Tatashi looked at the down-cast gaze of the woman before him. "The boards been discussing and the owner of this underground circuit has informed those of us managers with high ranking duelists, that they must go through a duel analysis."_

"_What are you babbling about?" Chime raised her head to look at the business man sitting before her. _

"_As your record sits undefeated by any of the duelists in this division of the circuit, you must show your worth against a duo of players from another side of our little circuit." Tatashi pushed up the glasses on his face, refracting the light again so that the lenses became solid white before his dark blue eyes. "If you should fail, you owe the owner an amount equal to all of your winnings in the last 5 months of dueling. Win and no more questions will be asked of you." _

"_What!" Chime was outraged, standing up with a start. Her green duel disk fell from her lap and crashed to the cement floor below, sending a loud 'thud' ricocheting off the stone walls of the room. "Why in the hell was this brought on?" _

"_I don't know all the details myself." Tatashi looked up at Chime. "If I did, I wouldn't be just a manager of you." Motioning for the angered woman to sit back down, he continued to speak. "And you can't back down. If you fail to show up, you'll owe up to a years worth of winnings and most likely would be tracked down by the thugs of our owner." _

_Sitting down reluctantly, Chime bent over and picked up the duel disk that lay on the floor by her feet. Her expression was distant, anger filling each of her emerald eyes. Looking back up she saw Tatashi staring at her. Moaning with disgust, she finally calmed herself down to speak in a reasonable tone. _

"_So, just have to beat two duelists and no further questions will be asked, right?" _

"_Not exactly." Tatashi stood up, looking down at her. "There will be only one match played." _

"_Handicap? Two random duelists against me?" Chime was starting to lose her calmness with how her manager was explaining the arrangement made against her will._

"_You and a partner of your choosing." Tatashi moved past Chime and stopped at the metal door. Without turning to face her, he placed his hand on the handle of the door. "You have to choose someone to team up with. The board has noticed your lack of cooperation with everyone you meat down here, so they figured this was a very suitable punishment to inflict on you." Looking over his shoulder slightly, he awaited Chime's reaction. Not getting one, he continued to talk. "Got anyone in mind? There are plenty of top ranked duelers down here for you to…" _

"_I wouldn't team up with anyone down here to save my life." Chime's voice was dripping with hate. "These worthless duelists down here would only drag me down in a duel." _

"_Well, you have until the date of the arranged match to find someone to team up with." Tatashi opened the door and slowly stepped out. The door clicked behind him as he pulled it shut, leaving Chime alone in the stone room with only her thoughts as company. _

_/End Flashback/_

Chime seemed lost in her thoughts, staring blankly at the demon before her.

"Come on already." Kiro growled, tapping his foot impatiently on the dirt floor below him. "I don't have all day to wait for you to make your move. I'll give you five more seconds, then I'll consider it as you've forfeited to me."

"_I need your help brother, and I will either get it, or die trying."_ Chime narrowed her eyes as she placed her hand on the top card of her deck. "I wouldn't surrender after coming this far to find you. Draw!" Snapping the card off her deck, she glared at the face of it while the slime resting in bits and pieces all over her field began to recollect itself before her. Within seconds, the dark eyes slime monster appeared in defense mode again. "I activate the magic card I've redrawn, Bait Doll! Force the activation of his set card now!"

Kiro growled as his face down card flipped up. Shaking a bit, the card seemed to be drained of all of its color instantly, shattering like a pane of weak glass. Pulling the card out of his duel disk of light, Kiro slid it into his graveyard.

"You've destroyed my Covering Fire trap card." Kiro announced, letting his arm rest at his side again. His red eyes narrowing as Chime once again shuffled her Bait Doll card into her deck of cards.

"Good, now that I've taken care of that little problem, I think I'll be free to do some major damage to you." Taking another card form her hand, Chime quickly slid it into the spine of her duel disk. "Ritual Magic card activate; Plasma Gel!"

A green bordered card appeared behind Chime's Revival Slime, sucking in the blue gel monster with little resistance. The card began to glow, sending a rain of long, oval shapes spurting from the card image. On the field, an anamorphic blob began to form where her Revival Slime once sat. This one had golden translucent skin surrounding it, with a crimson red center blasting outwards in the monster.

"By sacrificing a monster of level four or more, I am now able to ritual summon Plasma from my hand." Chime announced, slowly placing the card in her hand onto the spine of her dueling plate. Her monster let out a gargled moan with is summoning (1500/1500). "And this card is going to be what brings you down!" Chime whipped her arm through the air, bringing a very accusing finger down upon the monster that betrayed her. "Plasma attack! Destroy Revival Slime now!"

With a burst of energy, the amber skinned monster took off flying across the field. Tackling into the former ally of the monster, consuming it into the gel like membrane of the monster. Within seconds of making contact both monsters exploded. Waves of heat belting outwards and crashing into both players.

"I activate the effect of Plasma." Chime held up her green duel disk. "Like Revival Slime, I can pay 1000 life points to revive him. Only this time, Plasma revives instantly from the graveyard."

Kiro-1950 LP  
Chime-100 LP

The amber coloured monster again appeared on Chime's field, virtually unharmed by the encounter with death that it just had. Moaning, the monster's inhuman voice echoed across the stone valley that lay all around them.

"For safety reasons I'll cover three cards on my field." Chime continued, sliding the last three cards in her hand into her duel disk. Behind her gel monster appeared three brown backs of her three newly set cards. "Now it's time to continue your downward spiral to defeat brother. Prepare yourself."

"You won't defeat me, much less could." Kiro snapped the top card off his deck. "And for the last time, I am not your brother!"

* * *

A large wooden table sat in a dark room, lit only by the light of two small desk lamps. On the table, cards were spread out in a random mess save two small blocks where the cards were perfectly lined row by row. These blocks were in front of two figures sitting at the table, looking down at the sets of cards.

Off in the darkness of the house a slight ringing noise could be heard. Sending one of the two figures flying out of the room to find the telephone, the source of the ringing noise. The second of the two figures sat back in his chair, stretching out his arms over his head full of blond spikes. His blue eyes reflected the light of the table lamp, closing momentarily to let a yawn rush past his lips.

His eyes darted to a shelf by the table once the yawn broke, staring at a small glass container with a cork top. Reaching out, the young man grabbed a hold of the container and brought it down to his face. A sad look rushed through his eyes as he stared at the contents of the container. What appeared to be small, torn up pieces of cardboard were the contents, sitting at awkward positions to fill up more of the jar than the actual sizes of the pieces.

"Damn him."

The first figure reached the device hanging on the wall, still ringing as he got there. Taking a second to take a deep breath before he picked up the phone, he put a happy tone in his deep voice.

"Hello."

("Hello") Came another man's voice through the phone, a slight confusion in his tone of voice. ("Who is this I'm speaking too?")

"That's a good question." The man chuckled. "You don't recognize my voice huh? Yours hasn't changed any Reku."

("Okay…you're Joe. I can tell by the horrid humor in your voice.") There came a slight laughter from the other end of the phone before Reku's voice came back. ("Sorry to call out of the blue like this, it must be early over there.")

"Try four in the morning early." Joe rubbed his gold colored eyes, reminding himself just how early it really was. "But we were expecting your call to be honest. Or someone to get in touch with us."

("Why's that?") Reku, still a bit confused asked back. ("And who is 'us'?")

"Kevin and I, our crystal cards have been going nuts on us recently. We figured something is up." Taking a second to pause, he looked over his shoulder back into the room where Kevin, the other figure, sat staring at the small glass container in his hand. Turning his head back so he was looking at the phone hanging on the wall, he continued to talk. "Is something strange going down over there dude?"

("More than I would like.") Reku's voice took a sudden turn of seriousness. ("Listen, I know that this is a bit sudden, but we really need your help on this one I'm afraid. You've guys got to get here, and fast.")

"We were just preparing our decks, figuring we'd be called like this. Hence why we are up at this ungodly hour of the morning." Joe smirked. "Hopping it wasn't anything major, but you've just confirmed our fears." Looking down at the tiled floor of the dark room he was in, he sighed slightly. "Alright, explain to me what all has been happening."

("Alright, I'll start from the beginning…")

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Gravekeeper Kiro**  
1800/1100/4/Dark/Spellcaster  
When this card is Normal Summoned, Flipped Summoned, or Special Summoned to the field you may place one Necrovalley from your hand, deck, graveyard, or removed from play pile to the field. When this monster destroys a monster as a result of battle inflict 200 points of damage for every monster on your side of the field that includes Gravekeeper in their title.

Chime: "Wow, what a strange card. It looks so much like I figured Kiro would have looked. Well, possibly a little bit different, but basically. And it's so strange that it shares the same name as him, but the duel disks read it so it's not a fake card. I wonder where he got it from. It dragged his field magic card; Necrovalley to the field, and can deal 200 points of damage for every Gravekeeper he has on his field. Not to shabby, especially at 1800 base attack."

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	9. Rematch Five Years in the Making

Episode 9: Rematch Five Years in the Making

Kiro fished through his cards with his eyes, determining the best way to solve this. He didn't have any magic or trap removal cards handy at the moment, and the three set cards Chime had resting on her field made him a little hesitant to do much. Any one of them could be a deadly trap set up to stop him in his tracks. Finally, he came to a decision, lifting his arm up to point at the amber coloured monster resting in Chime's duel zone.

"Gravekeeper Kiro attacks your Plasma!" He bellowed, pleased that if she stopped his battle damage, than maybe he could nail her with effect damage. With only 100 life points left to her name, Kiro was fairly confident he could end this right here.

Winding back a tan, rock hard fist, the named monster took off at a high speed run, snapping his fist forward to smash into the glowing red center of the amber colored membrane on Chime's field. His eyes widened, as did Kiro's, when they saw his fist had slammed into a clear barrio protecting the small creature with in its translucent walls. A wave of energy shot back through the bubble, blasting the Egyptian man away from the monster and sliding back to Kiro's field.

Kiro-1950 LP   
Chime-2400 LP

"Activate trap card; Draining Shield! Stealing 2300 life points from the attack points of your monster." Chime smirked, sliding the said trap card from her duel disk into her graveyard. "It also negated your attack against my Plasma, leaving it virtually unharmed."

"_Dammit."_ Kiro cursed, kicking a small rock that rested by his tennis shoe, sending it whizzing through the air. Narrowly missing Chime's unmoving head, and flying down into the darkness of the valley behind her. She never saw the attack coming, and didn't know what it was until she heard an echo of the stone hitting the ground racing through the canyon.

"Trying to kill your dear sister?" Chime asked, glancing over her shoulder and down the dark valley that stretched out behind her. "It's not very nice you know." She turned back just to shrink back in fear. Kiro was surging with a red, demonic aura again, causing dirt and small rocks to be kicked up in his anger. His eyes were ice cold, though burning with a hate she hadn't seen in him before.

"Will you knock that off? For the last time, YOU ARE NOT MY SISTER!" Kiro bellowed, his energy blasting off with his sudden outburst, causing the walls of the Necrovalley to visibly shake from the intensity, though it looked more like they were shaking in fear.

Kiro wasn't letting up either, his power flashed off of his body, sending dirt and rocks flying through the air. Snapping his arm up, a gust of wind slashed upwards from his energy.

"Gravekeeper's Assailant attack Plasma!" His voice bellowed, carrying with a dark growl from deep in his lungs. Chime, who was already shielding herself with her arms to prevent the dirt and rocks from hitting her, also shivered from the evil in Kiro's voice.

The black assassin, out of fear as well it appeared, jumped high into the air after the booming voice of its master. Snapping the wavy dagger across her body, she began to free fall towards the amber coloured creature that her ally couldn't quite conquer on the previous attack. Snapping its arm back, it slashed across the body of the amber coloured creature, leaving a tail of white sparks in its wake.

What happened next, neither Kiro nor his monster could have understood at the exact moment. The amber coloured cell began to growl in disgust, seeming to charge up red lightning within its walls. When the white spark finally faded away, it revealed the monster to be completely unharmed. Another growl erupted from the blob before it rushed forward, smashing into the assassin and completely running it over.

The Gravekeeper's Assailant moaned for a moment in pain before shattering into small data fragments and floating aimlessly through the air. The Plasma monster then hovered backwards, resting in its original spot on Chime's field.

Kiro-950 LP  
Chime-2400 LP

"My quick-play magic card is activated when you attack." Chime called out, the raging storm of dirt finally calming down as Kiro became slightly confused as to what happened to his monster. "It's called Oozing Attack, and it works only on all face-up Revival Slime's and Plasma's, doubling their attack points for the duration of the turn. (3000/1500)"

"I end my turn then." Kiro slid his arm diagonally through the air to show he was cutting his turn off. _"She's stronger than I gave her credit for."_ He mentally sighed, seeing that Chime did have the ability to duel and duel well at that. She had been countering all his moves in the past turn and almost flipped the life point scores completely over.

"I draw, but it won't matter." Chime pulled the top card off her deck, instantly placing it into her graveyard slot. "When I activate my Oozing Attack magic card, during my next draw phase, the card I draw is instantly discarded to my grave." Chime explained, moving her delicate fingers from the hole in her duel disk to the card sitting on the spine of the device. "I shift Plasma to defense mode, ending my turn. (1500/1500)"

"_She has no cards in her hand, and only one set card on the field."_ Kiro examined his odds, seeing that by the way she was acting, her face down card must not be anything tremendously powerful. Reaching for his deck, he drew the top card and whipped it through the air. Glancing at its face, he decided it wasn't worth it by this point. "Gravekeeper Kiro attack! Destroy her Plasma and drain away some more of her life points!"

With a dead run, the tan monster plowed a knuckle through the amber skin of the monster, causing it to blast outward from the intense force. Though being destroyed, the chunks of slime hovered around in mid air, finally being sucked back together into the gelatinous blob monster once again.

"I pay 1000 life points to bring my monster right back." Chime explained, her duel disk beeping with the sudden drop in life. "And I take 200 more points of damage due to your monsters special ability."

Kiro-950 LP  
Chime-1200 LP

"I end my turn then." Kiro slashed his arm through the air, his monster jumping back across the valley to his master's side of the field, taking a strong pose to emphasis its strength.

"This comes down to this draw then." Chime announced, sliding the top card from her deck and holding it up so she could see the face of the card. Her eyes darted back to Kiro who was waiting patently on his side of the field. "Tell me, do you believe now that I'm your sister?"

"Not in the least."

"Why?"

"Why should I?" Kiro shrugged, taking a casual look down at the sand like ground. "You've provided no proof outside of things that anyone could find if they did a little research. I don't believe your story a bit, it's nothing but bull shit."

"What would I have to do to convince you?" Chime asked, slowly shifting the monster on her duel disk into a vertical position. The amber colored monster resting upon her field began to stretch out, taking a more forward appearance as it shifted into attack mode.

"Why are you so hell bent on proving to me that you're my sister?" Kiro snapped his head back up, his demon energy ripping off his skin and sending another storm of dirt rushing outward.

"Because, it's true." Chime looked down at the ground, not even shielding herself from the attack of sand. Sighing, she muttered something a bit more quiet, but still audible. "And., because, I need your help."

Kiro's energy stopped flowing, his body relaxing but his eyes widening as he looked at the green haired woman that stood bowed before him. She looked so strong to him before, just as a person, but now she seemed so helpless. Something, deep down, told Kiro that the weight of her words were because of the truth that they bared. This strange woman was his sister, he could just tell by his instincts.

His arms resting at his side, his raven black fingers twitching slightly as he continued to stare at the woman who he now knew fully was his own flesh and blood. "…si…sister…"

"You believe me finally?" She asked, looking up at the boy who was now looking rather shocked, as well as a tad bit sad. Chime couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy to the guy.

Nodding, Kiro looked down at the field. His monster stood on his side, waiting for any orders to be given to him. While Chime had the emotionless chunk of slime. Looking up, he smiled slightly, but soon dropped it. "What would you need my help for that you would come seeking me out now?" Kiro inquired, letting his voice drop to almost comforting levels.

"I'll explain, once I win this duel." Chime smirked playfully, slamming the card she had drawn down onto her duel disk. "And I summon Humanoid Slime to do it (800/2000)." A ball of slime formed on Chime's field next to her Plasma monster, taking a human like shape and gaining a bright yellow vest to adorn its 'torso'. "Chaining my trap card!" Chime snapped her right arm out to the side as far as it would go. "Two-Pronged Attack!"

Her last set trap flipped up, revealing two monsters like claws rushing at each other. From the card image, the two pictured claws rushed out, stabbing both of Chime's monsters in their 'backs' and blasting right through them, racing towards Kiro's avatar monster.

"Two-Pronged Attack works as so." Chime started to explain as the two claws buried themselves deep in Gravekeeper Kiro's chest cavity, causing him to erupt with pain. Clutching his chest, the monster fell to his knees before exploding. "By destroying two of my own monsters, I send one of yours to the graveyard. But when Plasma goes to the grave, I get to pay 1000 life points to bring him back instantly."

Kiro-950 LP  
Chime-200 LP

Chime's amber coloured monster once again appeared on her field, moaning some un-human like sounds.

Chime pointed to Kiro. "Now brother, I have won…direct attack!" She cried out, her monster taking off like a speeding bullet, smashing into the chest of her younger brother and sending him flying backwards to the ground. Which surprised Chime, seeing how it appeared her brother was a bit, abnormal, to say the least. He must have still been in shock at realizing he had a sister.

Kiro-0 LP  
Chime-200 LP

Chime picked up the cards off her duel disk, letting the spine like field fold up once again as it deactivated. She walked slowly through the fading valley, coming upon her brother who was pulling himself to his feet. Without a second though, she reached out, wrapping her arms around her sibling in a massive hug.

"Kiro." She muttered into his pointed ear, making it twitch slightly. "I know that I've never been there for you life, but the ancient rules prevented your family save one person at least two generations away from you to be with you." Letting back, she slid her arms across his shoulders until her hands rested right on the balls of his shoulders. "That is why you had to live with your grandfather for you're entire life."

Kiro was standing there, still rather limp. His red eyes locked with the emerald green ones of his sister.

"Trust me; you had it a lot better than I did." Chime moved around slightly, wrapping her right arm completely around the back of Kiro while she moved to his side. She was a bit taller than her brother, but not by much. "Our dad went a bit crazy from the burden he had to bear his entire life."

"But," Kiro cranked his head so he was looking at the woman who was standing next to him. "You're rambling. What is it that you needed my help so bad that you would seek me out now?"

* * *

Ronin stumbled a bit over his ten-pound feet, catching himself on the door frame of the door leading into Reku and Akina's bedroom. Looking up, his eyes were a bit glossed over; he gazed down the hallway, trying to see if he could see anything. Closing his eyes, he pressed on the bridge of his nose with his right thumb and forefinger, growling a bit from the pain he felt rushing through the back of his neck.

_/Flashback/_

_"Alright Dementia." Freyr began to speak as the vampiress made her way up off the ground, brushing off her cape. "That is enough fun. I grow weary of watching this human try his hardest. It's pathetic."_

"_Yes Lord Freyr." Dementia turned, bowing slightly to her master before turning back to Ronin. "Well darling, my master has grown bored with the show. I'm sorry that the best you had wasn't enough to impress him, I've had a wonderful time torturing you. But all good things must come to an end._

_She drew her card casually, sliding it into her duel disk instantly._

"_Pot of Greed lets me draw two new cards from my deck." Sliding two more cards from her deck, she inserted another one of the cards she pulled into her duel disk. "And the magic card Book of Life." Pulling out the stack of cards her graveyard ejected. "This card allows me to special summon back from my grave one zombie monster, and also remove a monster from your grave. I'll have you get rid of your King Death Fish so I can bring back my Curse of Vampire (2000/800)."_

_Dementia's blue armored monster reappeared on her field, smirking darkly as it reappeared._

"_This magic card is known as Double Attack. By discarding one monster, I chose one on my field whose level is lower than it and grant it the power to strike twice in one turn." Pulling one of the two cards that still rested in her hand out she flipped it around to reveal a level eight monster. "I discard Vampire Genesis (3000/2100), a level eight monster, to give my level six Curse of Vampire the power to strike twice in this turn."_

"_So now you can attack twice…" Ronin was less than amused, but was still rather confused. "What good is that going to do you here? My Daedalus is still 600 points stronger than your vampire. And with only one card in your hand, I doubt there is much you could do."_

"_Darling." Dementia bowed her head, giggling slightly. "You underestimate me far too much." With that, she slid the last card into her duel disk. "This card will finish the game. Coercive Magic Eyes activates and affects an undead type monster with 2000 attack points or less, allowing it to attack you directly on this turn." Her head jerked up, a dark smirk on her face. "Well, this game was fun. Curse of Vampire finish!"_

_Rushing across the field, the blue armored vampire swiftly made his way to the water duelist, sinking his fangs deep into Ronin's neck. Screaming in pain, Ronin dropped to the ground instantly, his duel disk making a loud clanking sound as it connected with the golden tiled floor._

_Ronin-0 LP  
Dementia-300 LP_

"_Attacking twice with 2000 attack dealt you 4000 points of damage, showing that you don't have the power needed to stop me." Dementia turned, her duel disk folding back up on her arm. She walked back to the two male demons that stood behind her. Bowing slightly to Freyr, she moved to his side and stood their quietly._

_/End Flashback/_

Ronin lifted his hand so he could look at it. It was trembling horribly, but he was soon able to calm down enough to make the shaking come to a stop. Looking up again, he sighted. _"What the hell did she do to me?"_

"Alright, we'll see you guys soon." Reku's voice echoed through the darkening house, followed by a click as it sounded like he hung up a phone. A sigh followed as Reku seemed to move through the house, coming into the hallway, stopping instantly when he saw Ronin standing there. "Ronin!" He yelled, running down the hallway, grabbing his friend to keep him from falling. "Ronin, what are you doing?"

"I…" Ronin's voice trailed off as he stumbled forward, out of Reku's grip. It was slow, but he was making his way down the carpeted hallway. "…don't really know." He had to place his left hand against the wall that was next to him to keep himself upright a few times, but he seemed to be getting his land legs back as he was able to move a bit more sturdy and faster the farther he went.

Reku just watched his weak friend slowly moving out of the hallway, completely confused as to what was going on. Shaking off his confusion, he took off walking after his friend to find that by now he was already making it across the living room and heading for the front door.

"Ronin, where do you think your going?" He called out, rushing up and grabbing a hold of the back of his friend's shirt. "You seem a little too weak to be leaving right at this moment."

Ronin stopped, his arms hanging down at his side, his eyes fixating on a point in the carpeted floor of the hallway. _"Seem a little too weak."_ Ronin's eyes began to slowly close, his mind wondering over his jumbled thoughts. _"I'm always the weak one compared to you Reku. I'm always the one who sits in your shadow as you rise higher and higher to greatness."_

Reku soon found the right side of his face burning, and the walls rushing into a complete blur. His back soon found solid floor, shaking every bone in his body as the impact happened. Looking up, it took a second for his eyes to adjust, but he saw Ronin had turned around, his fist extending out to where Reku's head once was.

"REKU!" Akina cried, rushing across the living room, entering from the door that led to the kitchen. With incredible speed, she race through the room and found herself kneeling next to Reku.

"I'll show you." Ronin growl, bringing his fist back. "You won't be the one having the final laugh this time." And with that, Ronin turned, throwing open the front door and racing outside.

Reku, like a man on a mission, was on his feet and flying out the front door seconds after Ronin had. Racing down the stone steps and out into the lawn where he was brought to a sudden halt by two figures standing on the side walk and moving slowly towards him.

"What the hell is going on?" Reku asked, almost yelled, as he looked at the two figures then off to the other side of the yard where he saw Ronin running as fast as he could across the street and disappearing into the backyard of some one else's house. Looking back at the two figures, he got on his guard. Something about them seems dangerous, but oddly familiar.

"'What's going on?' is a good question." The taller of the two figures spoke, glaring at Reku. "Why didn't Hygin and Archip finish you off?" Shaking his head in disappointment, he looked back up at Reku. "Let me guess, they failed and ran off with their tail between their legs."

"You work for Freyr too don't you?" Reku growled, his duel disk starting to hum as it came to life. The two arms flapping forward, crashing together to make the dueling plate, then sliding down to the side of the wrist gadget.

"Reku, I'm surprised you don't recognize us." The tall figure motioned for his comrade to come forward. "I mean, after the lovely time not only I spent with your group, but the man here that you stepped on to gain such popularity in the dueling world."

That is when Reku noticed it. Standing back at the sidewalk, kind of off to the side, where two more people. A rather medium sized girl with really long flowing hair, and a really tall guy who also had really long hair. They looked as if they hadn't had hair cuts in ages.

Looking back at the figures before him, he stared at the one who hadn't spoken yet. Long blue hair rushed down his head and to his shoulders. His blue eyes seemed cold, distant, and angry.

"Yukio." Reku's eyes widened as he recognized the man he hadn't seen in over five years. "Is that really you Yukio?"

"Your damn right it is." The man stepped forward, revealing a blue Kaiba corp. style duel disk on his arm. Lifting it up, it activated as well, snapping out its arms to create a dueling plate. "And I'm here for a little payback Yamashita!"

Reku's eyes darted from the two figures still standing on the sidewalk staring at them, who he figured must be Seki and Akiaki, then to the really strong man who stood next to Yukio. His crew cut hair and dark, glaring eyes made it almost obvious by now who this was.

"And you are Tal." Reku slowly started to back up, getting a sinister grin from Tal and a slow, painful nod as well. _"Lovely, every bad guy we've ever had to fight has showed up here on our front lawn. All we need is Chime and Chaos and we can have a huge barbeque!"_ Reku's sarcasm was noted as he pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket, looking down at them. _"I don't have time to be doing this. I need to go after Ronin."_ Looking up, he saw Yukio slamming a deck of cards into his own duel disk. _"Looks like I don't get much of a choice."_

"You ready Yamashita?" Yukio growled, slowly sliding cards from the top of his deck and fanning them out before him, shifting the card from his right hand to his left. "It's only been five years I've been told, that is far to long for me to wait to get my revenge against you and that horrid defeat you handed me."

"Yukio, that would be lovely to catch up on old times, but I've really got…"

"You're dueling me right this instant!" Yukio bellowed, interrupting Reku and making him shrink back. "I do not have the patience to wait for you, now draw your cards and let this game begin!"

"_What the hell is going on?"_ Reku slowly closed his eyes. _"Not since this morning has there been a moment of peace. Is this really what this Freyr guy is going to do until he gets his hands on the crystal?"_ Opening his brown eyes, Reku gave the deck of cards in his hand a quick shuffle before sliding it into his emerald green duel disk. "Alright Yukio, I'll duel you." Reku, one at a time, pulled the cards off his deck to make his opening hand. _"Mainly to shut up your spoiled mouth."_

"Reku!" Akina, as well as Kaira who had run over from next door, stood on the lawn behind Reku.

"This is getting to be a living nightmare for us." Reku called over his shoulder, crouching down slightly as he prepared to duel an enemy who had been out of this world for going on five years. "And I have no clue what the hell is the matter with Ronin."

"Um, do you know these guys as well?" Kaira asked, leaning over to Akina.

"Sadly." Akina nodded, looking over at the blond haired woman who was standing next to her. "It seems as if this Freyr guy is rising up an arsenal of extremely powerful enemies from our past against us." That is when she noticed that Kaira was alone. "Wait, didn't Kiro ever come back?"

"Nope." Kaira's head bowed, her eyes focusing on a small rock that rested there. "I haven't seen from him since he left earlier with that strange figure. I was hoping that he would have come back by now, I'm just starting to get a bit…um…" Looking up, she saw that Akina understood what Kaira was trying to say.

"Alright Yukio!" Reku's voice broke into the conversation the two women were having behind him. Shifting their eyes forward, they prepared to watch Reku duel this man who showed up on their yard. "Let's get this over with so I can deal with more important things."

"Right now, I should be the only important thing on your mind." Yukio placed his hand on the top card of his deck held in his navy blue duel disk, the model Chaos had given to him. "And I'll start!"

Reku-4000 LP  
Yukio-4000 LP

Yukio snapped the top card from his deck, slicing it through the air before sliding it down into his duel disk. "I start with a magic card. Zergo's Soul Container will remain face-up on my field, sucking in the souls of my Zergo monsters if they happen to be sent from the field to the grave."

A strange, white vase appeared on Yukio's field. The top had a sealed top, binding by a jigsaw lock carved into the strange marble of the container. Gold rope with mulit-coloured jewels wrapped around the container, criss-crossing over itself and creating a symmetrical design against the white marble.

"And I summon a monster; Zergo's Loyal Knight (1000/900) in face up defense mode." Accompanying the vase was a lump of brown rags that appeared in a rain of rainbow coloured light. Soon it was revealed that wrapped inside the brown rags was a warrior monster, leaning against a double bladed, and very torn up, sword. "This ends my turn."

"_It's been ages since I've seen the Zergo cards."_ Reku slowly placed his hand on the top card of his own deck. _"I don't remember exactly what each of his cards does, so I have to be slightly careful."_ Sliding the top card off his deck, he whipped it through the air and placed it among the cards already in his hand. "Draw!" He cried out before slapping a card from his hand down onto his duel disk. "I normal summon Robotic Knight to start my turn off with (1600/1800)."

A red and yellow machine monster appeared before Reku, slashing a thin saber through the air. For his left hand he had a gatling gun, raised and aiming at the opponent's monster. Its metal plating was shaped to appear to be a uniform, making the monster look like a general. A chunk of metal sitting upon its head was shaped into a red and blue hat with a white metal feather sticking up.

"Robotic Knight attack!" Reku yelled, thrusting his arm forward at the crouching man in tattered rags. Obeying instantly, the robotic soldier lifted its left arm, blasting rounds of bullets across the field at the crouching man, causing him to explode instantly. Yukio shielded himself, smirking the whole time.

"Yamashita you idiot." Yukio slowly lowered his arm as the dust was settling. "Looks like you didn't pay attention when I said that my Zergo's Soul Container was going to absorb the soul of my monsters when they go to the grave."

"What?" Reku's eyes widened as he watched a streak of white vapor rushing through the air and into the top of the vase. The hatch had been flung open, gulping up the soul of the vanquished Zergo's Loyal Knight like a hungry man gulping soup. Once the tail end of the vapor was sucked in, the hatch to the vase slammed shut, locking in the soul it just captured.

Reku narrowed his eyes, concentrating on the vase that was resting on Yukio's field. Now it seemed to be glowing slightly, sending off a pale white aura.

"_Seems that his magic card is going to be building up for something, but what?"_ Reku pulled another card from his hand, instantly placing it into his emerald green duel disk. "Fine, then to end my turn, I activate the continuous magic card; Holy Fire." The holographic version of the card appeared next to Reku, sitting dormant on his field. _"Since I have a monster on my field, my Holy Fire won't do anything this move. If I didn't have Robotic Knight on my field, it would special summon one pyro monster with a fire attribute from my deck to the field. But it's the second effect I'm after, which I'll activate in the next turn."_

"Draw!" Yukio bellowed, sliding the top card off his deck and holding it up so his navy blue eyes could scan over the image and text of the card. "Perfect, I summon this monster." Yukio slapped the card down onto his duel disk, creating a rain of spark on the field before him. "Zergo's Marble Wall (200/2100), defense mode!"

A marble wall appeared before Yukio, shielding him from all attacks that the opponent may try and launch. The sides of the wall were lined with a golden bar, framing the monster completely.

"Then I set one card face-down, finishing my turn." Yukio announced as a brown back card appeared before him. Sneering, he stared at the back of the wall that rested before him. _"Yamashita, I'm not going to lose this time. You are in for one hell of a fight, and I _will _get my revenge."_

"Draw!" Reku yelled, snapping the top card off his deck and adding it to his hand before examining his options. _"Time to wipe a chunk out of his life."_ Taking one of his cards, Reku instantly slapped it down on his duel disk. "I normal summon Warrior of the White Flame (2000/0), attack mode!"

A thin monster wearing battered silver armor appeared before Reku. In its hands it held a thin, scratched, double bladed sword that it whipped easily through the air, leaving a tail of white flames as it moved.

"My monster is of the pyro family, and has a fire attribute." Reku called out, unsure of Yukio's reaction from behind the marble wall that stood between them. "This means that I can sacrifice my Holy Fire magic card and my Warrior of the White Flame to wipe your Zergo's Marble Wall off the field!" Reku snapped his arm down as his green bordered card erupted in a pillar of flames, stretching out and catching the newly summoned warrior in its intense blaze.

Zergo's Marble Wall began to crack slightly with the shock waves of heat jutting off of the tower of flames. Wobbling a bit, the pillar of fire fell upon the wall causing it to shatter instantly. A thin vapor of white energy seeping out of the data fragments and into the glass vase before the top slammed shut once again.

"Now Robotic Knight," Reku held up his hand, his index finger pointed directly at Yukio, "attack!"

"Don't be silly Yamashita." Yukio snapped his arm out to the side. "I wouldn't let you attack me that easily, not when I'm trying to beat you in this duel. Open trap card; Quick-Fix Monster! When I am attacked directly, I can use this card to special summon one monster from my hand with an attack of 2000 or less."

Yukio slapped one of the three cards he was still holding down onto his duel disk. Before him, a dark skinned man in crimson red robes appeared. Holding up his arms, the figure let his cloak dropped down to reveal his thick fingered hands, cupping them together before him.

"I chose Zergo's Magician (2000/1600)." Yukio smirked as his purple bordered card vanished from the field before him. "Oh yeah, and my Quick-Fix Monster trap card also says that the battle continues, so come on Robotic Knight, attack my Zergo's Magician!"

"No!" Reku's eyes widened, as well as Akina's and Kaira's, as the soldier style machine nodded, letting a spray of bullets erupt from the Gatling gun on his arm. The bullets raced through the air, crashing into an invisible wall protecting the robed figure. Sparks flew off the force field, sending a bolt of red hot lightning across the field and into the chest of Reku's monster, causing it instantly to explode.

Reku-3600 LP  
Yukio-4000 LP

"Fine then." Reku growled, annoyed that Yukio summed a level five monster without doing anything but playing a simple trap card. Though with 2000 attack, it was powerful, it wasn't unbeatable. _"The problem comes in the fact I have already summoned a monster in this turn. And this trap isn't exactly what I would call a good source of protection, but it'll have to do."_ Reku grabbed on of the cards in his own hand, sliding it into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down, ending my turn."

Yukio watched as the brown backed card appeared before Reku in a ripple of white and yellow light. Smirking to himself, he placed his hand on his deck and pulled the top card off.

"Draw." Yukio began to chuckle to himself, motioning to his robed monster. "You think I am going to attack you with him, don't you? Well here is news for you, I'm going to be using his effect! I sacrifice his attack this turn in order to select one magic card in my deck and play it instantly." Pulling out his deck of cards, Yukio fanned it out before him and began to shift through each one until he found what he was looking for. "And my choice is the continuous magic card; Zergo's Tainted Cards."

"What in the world will Zergo's Tainted Cards do?" Reku cocked an eyebrow at the new magic card.

"Simple." Yukio was shuffling his deck as he spoke. "Each turn, I may draw two cards from my deck, then discard two cards from my hand." With that, he placed the deck back in his deck slot on his duel disk. Placing his hand on his deck, he snapped two cards off of it and fanned them open so he could see them. "I will discard two cards then. Let see," adding the new cards to his hand, he pulled out two other cards. "These two monster cards; Zergo's Acid Crawler (1600/1100) and Zergo's Rage Behemoth (2000/800).

Yukio slid the cards into his graveyard slot, watching as white vapor seeped out from the hole and into the vase that was still resting on the field before him. Then, holographic fire erupted from the hole, rushing outwards and forming a large lump of flames on Yukio's field.

"When Zergo's Rage Behemoth is sent from my hand to the grave, he is special summoned to the field in attack mode."

A large, red furred monster appeared before Yukio, snarling like a rabid dog. Its nose was scrunched up on its face, its two nostrils flared open, giving a pig like appearance to the monster. From its lower lip, two large, pearly white fangs jutted upwards past the roof of his nose.

"Now, because of his special summoning effect, he can't attack this turn. Making it so that it appears both my monster can't attack, right?" Yukio got a rather slow, steady nod from Reku who was growing rather annoyed with Yukio's arrogant attitude towards him. "Well, too bad that I haven't normal summoned this turn, so I make a double offering!"

Yukio slapped a yellow boardered card down onto his duel disk. Cackling out loud while a rainbow of colours shot through the boarder of the duel disk as it read the card, Yukio's eyes took on an evil glare.

"I will bring you down Yamashita, watch! I summon Zergo's Man Slayer in attack mode (2600/1900)!" A gray skinned monster appeared before Yukio, towering over the field. The monster wore a black, torn pair of pants that hung down to just above two feet, each with three razor sharp claws for toes. Its head contained two, dark glaring, solid blue eyes, as well as a metal hatch covering the mouth of the monster. Ridged spikes jutted out of the monsters arms all the way from the shoulders down to the wrists of the behemoth.

Two more vapor trails fed into the top of the glass jar that remained on Yukio's field. The top slammed shut once the souls had entered, making a total of six souls within the walls of the vase.

"Let's face it Yamashita, your out of your league!" Yukio bellowed before snapping his arm down at Reku. "Zergo's Man Slayer, direct attack!"

* * *

Freyr's three eyes focused on the opening to the tunnel. A scowl darkened his face as two figures with downcast eyes emerged into the square, stone room of the abandoned subway station. Instantly, Freyr knew of the failure of the two men.

"Humansssss." He hissed, making both of their heads snap up and their bodies shrink back towards the stone stairs that lead back out into the real world.

Dementia and Thoth made their way around so that they were standing next to their master, only back about a step. They both glared at the two cowering humans.

"Is it true that I smell failure on your pathetic un bathed bodies?" Freyr hissed as he slowly walked towards the two humans who had fallen to the floor, afraid of the massive red demon making his way towards them. Gulping loudly, they both nodded. "You both realize that your assistance was on a trail basis, don't you? It was never needed from the start. I just figured I could use some disposable pawns to my advantage." Freyr turned his head so he was looking off to the side, but his eyes were still focused on the two humans before him. "And I stress the word _disposable._"

Archip instantly jumped to his knees, clasping his hands together and slowly sliding closer to the red behemoth towering over him. "Please Master Freyr. We did fail in defeating one of them, and couldn't find a location to another of them, but it was a very close game. Don't kill us please." Archip begged.

"Scum flailing about." Thoth grunted, slowly walking forward and bowing down to show his respect to Freyr. "Lord Freyr, please allow me the pleasure of disposing of these two. They are degrading your greatness by breathing the same air as you."

"Normally, I would." Freyr looked back down at Hygin and Archip before turning and walking back to the two beings waiting for him. "But we don't have the time right now. It is time to move again. We shall move now, and strike by sun rise."

"Yes Lord Freyr." Both Thoth and Dementia cried as he walked past them to the edge of the platform overlooking the two iron rods that used to be tracks.

"What should we do about them though?" Dementia asked, not turning around to even look at Freyr. She was pointing to Hygin and Archip with her hand twisted and her thumb pointed out at them.

"Let them be." Freyr growled. "I am in a particularly good mood. It might be because of the upcoming success that we will be having. I'll give them each another chance to make amends for their horrid failure." Lifting his beefy arm, he snapped around and pointed a long, razor sharp claw at the two of them. "But next time, your heads will be severed from ye bodies and you'll be incinerated."

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Holy Fire**  
Cont. Magic  
During your end phase, if you have no monster cards on your side of the field, special summon one Pyro monster with a FIRE attribute from your deck. During your Main Phase, sacrifice this card and one face up Pyro monster with a FIRE attribute to destroy one monster on the opponent's side of the field.

Reku: "Welcome again fans, its time for another Card of the Episode. This time it's a card I use myself; Holy Fire. It is handy to have around, especially in the case that your field finds itself empty during your end phase. If that monster is still around by your next turn, or you manage to summon another one, this card and that monster can go bye bye to eliminate one monster on the opponent's field. Not bad. The problem lies in the fact that is has to be a pyro family monster with a fire attribute. But other than that, handy card!"

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	10. Mankind Works in Mysterious Ways

Episode 10: Mankind Works in Mysterious Ways

"Let's face it Yamashita, your out of your league!" Yukio bellowed before snapping his arm down at Reku. "Zergo's Man Slayer, direct attack!"

Winding back its arm, the gray skinned behemoth prepared to strike the defending Reku with its jagged fist. Snarling, smoke bubbled out from behind the metal mask covering its mouth, whipping past the beasts head as he snapped forward to punch Reku.

"NO!" Akina screamed, the scene slowing down as Reku was hit by the ridged fist, sliding backwards towards her and Kaira who was wide eyed, watching as Reku took a massive hit.

Reku-1000 LP  
Yukio-4000 LP

"Yukio!" Reku screamed, his teeth clenching as the shock wave from the attack continued to push him backwards. "Your attack isn't going to go past as easily as you would like. It triggered my set trap!" With that, Reku came to a halt, snapping his right arm forward to the rising card before him. "Activate! Monster Steel Tunnel!"

"Monster Steel Tunnel?" Yukio cocked an eyebrow as the purple bordered card flipped up on the field. "It's been a while, so I'm a bit out of touch with every card. What does that one do again?"

"It's simple." Reku slowly was making his way back to the spot on the dueling field that he was just moments before inhabiting. With a flick of his right wrist he pulled out his deck and fanned it out. "When I receive a direct attack, I may activate it and special summon a monster from my deck with equal or less attack points. Since your monster has 2600 whooping points, I get to summon a monster of 2600 attack or less." Snapping one of the cards from his deck, Reku proceeded to place it in a monster card zone. "And I choose a good buddy of mine; Barrel Dragon (2600/2200)!"

A large, black metal behemoth rose up behind the black haired duelist. Three long, thin barrels sticking out of its upper body, pointed directly at the monster opposing it. Roaring with a mechanical grinding screech, the monster made his appearance very clear upon the field. A sound echoed out of the inner chamber of the strange beast's chest cavity as gears began to creek slowly, starting their processes.

"So you summed a monster that can match mine in attack power." Yukio brushed a lock of his blue hair out of his face. "Yamashita you fool, even that won't be able to stop me. I'll still beat you." Looking down at the cards he held, he looked up, smirking darkly. "Oh well, nothing more I can play this turn. Your move."

"Alright then." Reku snapped the next card from his deck, instantly slipping it into his duel disk. "I'll set one card face-down first." A brown backed card rippled into existence behind Reku's black machine monster. "Then I'll just activate the special ability that my Barrel Dragon holds."

Before Reku, three golden coins appeared, twirling inches above the ground. With a blast of energy, the three coins were sent skyward, twirling the whole time. One by one, the golden currency fell from the heavens to the soft grass below. Two of the coins had the Eye of Ra face up, the other was completely blank.

"I have flipped two heads it appears." Reku smirked, pointing to Yukio's power house monster. "Barrel Dragon's ability activates then. If two out of the three coin flips are heads, I can destroy one monster card on your side of the field! I of course choose your Zergo's Man Slayer!"

The two barrels resting on the side of Reku's great beast began to glow, embers shooting out from the two holes. Within seconds of Reku's speech, the two barrels blasted out bullets of red hot energy, rushing across the field and embedding themselves into the chest cavity of the wild behemoth on Yukio's field. Screaming in pain, the monster clutched its wounds before exploding, sending waves of embers and smoke rushing out from the area.

"Player direct attack!" Reku bellowed, snapping his arm down so that his palm was extended out towards his blue haired foe. Roaring, Reku's Barrel Dragon took aim with its center cannon, charging up for the blast. Within seconds the barrel let go, sending a blast of energy rushing across the front lawn and into the chest of Yukio, causing him to go flying backwards.

Reku-1000 LP  
Yukio-1400 LP

"Yamashita." Yukio growled as he pulled himself to his feet, patting the spot on his chest where the holographic blast had smacked into him. It was burning his chest slightly, his body no longer being used to the solid vision technology used by duel disks. "My inner anger won't let you beat me that easily! It is my turn to draw!" Yukio snapped the top card off his deck, slicing it through the air. "Zergo's Tainted Cards activate!"

The green bordered card on Yukio's field began to suddenly erupt with energy as it's effect kicked in. Yukio reached back up to his deck, snapping the top two cards off of it and whipping them through the air.

"I draw two cards, and discard two more." Holding up the two cards, Reku could see the yellow bordered monster cards with the names; Zergo's Acid Crawler (1600/1100) and Zergo's Cyborg (1500/1700). Sliding them into his graveyard, the glass pot on Yukio's field began to spurt to life once again. "Adding two more souls to my Zergo's Soul Container."

"_That makes a total of eight monsters in his grave, if I've counted right."_ Reku looked at the container resting on the grass. _"What is he building up that pot for? I am starting to grow a bit nervous the more he puts into it."_

Yukio, seeing Reku gazing at his Soul Container, decided to enlighten him a bit. "Alright Yamashita, you want to know what is going to happen because of my little magic card? I'll tell you then."

The pot suddenly began to crack, waves of energy bursting outwards onto the field, creating a mist of white haze. Screams echoed from inside the vase, sounding like ghosts trying to escape eternal imprisonment.

"I sacrifice my Zergo's Soul Container, and for every three souls I have trapped in there, I get to summon one Zergo's Soul Token to my side of the field." The pot shattered, sending three blasts of energy outwards and landing on Yukio's field before him. The spheres rotated slowly, moaning like three ghosts (0/0).

"Three of them?" Reku pointed to the three newly summoned tokens with three fingers on his right hand. "You said for every three monsters in there it created one, but I counted only eight monsters, where did the ninth one come from?"

"You forget Yamashita that Zergo's Rage Behemoth went to the grave twice, counting once for each time." Yukio held up one of the three cards he still was holding. "And now you'll just plain forget everything you think you know about this game. I will knock all the sense out of you."

"Oh…shit…" Reku's eyes widened as he watched two of the spheres on Yukio's field begin to fade away. He didn't remember Yukio's deck too well, but he did remember one thing in particular. One really big, demonic looking thing.

"I make a double sacrifice in order to bring out Zergo!" A pillar of flames rushed upwards behind the blue haired boy, snapping his strands of hair forwards with the intense shock wave. From the flames came a long, blue skinned claw, slashing away the red hot embers. Behind the fire was emerged a blue skinned behemoth, even taller than Reku's Barrel Dragon. Its body was wrapped in a black, rather fine robe running up and over the top of the monsters head. Two, blood red eyes glared down at Reku, accompanied by a sick and twisted green from a mouth bearing two razor sharp fangs. (3500/3500)

Kaira shriek, jumping back and clutching onto Akina's arm as she also slowly stepped backwards.

"What is that thing! I've never seen a duel monster like it before!" Kaira had her eyes closed, her head looking away from the blue skinned monster that now towered high over the rest of the playing field.

"I've never been sure myself. But with its overwhelming attack, it's quite tough to try and bring down." Akina kept her soft, blue eyes locked on the back of Reku's head. Her right fist tightening into a fist. _"Don't give up Reku; I'm sure you have a way to get around that thing!"_

"Yamashita!" Yukio extending his arm out and downward, his fingers outstretched with enough strain to make his hand visibly shake. "You should remember this beast! Fear his rage now! Hell's Dark Flame!"

With a snap of its right arm the blue skinned monster whipped the black robe out from before him, it flowing outwards to his side. Cupping its blue claws, the monster began to form a ball of raging flames, swirling in a vortex within the ten fingers. With a thrust of his arms outward, the monster sent the blaze rushing outward in a stream, encircling the black metal dragon monster that stood between Zergo and Reku, causing the machine to instantly melt.

Reku-100 LP  
Yukio-1400 LP

"REKU!" Akina cried out, watching as her loved one's life points plummeted by 900, leaving him with only 100 life points left to fight on. And against such a behemoth of a monster! Zergo had enough attack power to back it up that Reku couldn't beat it in a simple attack.

Reku, without saying anything, placed his hand on the top card of his deck, waiting for Yukio to end his turn so that he could draw it and find out what it was he had to work with.

Seeing this, Yukio nodded. "Yup, your move."

"Draw!" Reku snapped the card from his deck, holding it up in front of his face. His eyes narrowed a glint of red reflecting off the surface of his dark brown eyes. "It's time I took down Zergo and won this duel. Magic card activate! Hole in the Plan!"

"Which does?" Yukio cocked an eyebrow, watching as Reku slid the magic card into his emerald green duel disk.

"I allows me to remove monsters from my graveyard in order to special summon a tribute monster from my hand. For every star above four the monster has, I must remove one monster. I choose this monster." Holding up one of the remaining cards in his hand, he flipped it over to show a yellow bordered monster card. "Mech Dragon Blaster (2500/2000), a seven star monster. This means I must remove three monsters from my grave from the game."

Holding up his duel disk, Reku watched as the three monster cards in his graveyard slot; Barrel Dragon, Robotic Knight, and Warrior of the White Flame, popped out. Taking the monster card he was still holding, Reku slapped it down on his duel disk.

A large, green scaled dragon monster appeared on the field before Reku. Standing on its two hind feet, the monster was massive in size, though still small compared to the towering Zergo. Random parts of his body seemed to have been replaced with machinery. Metal panels, exposed wiring and some flashing lights run all the way around the monster. Roaring once, the monster revealed that inside its mouth was a large, gray cannon.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news to you." Yukio lowered his head slightly, a smirk creasing his lips. "Your monster is far too weak to stand up to the power that my monster has. I don't know what you plan to do with it, but it won't work."

"Then you should get all your information before printing the news." Reku held up another card, its brown back still facing Yukio. "I have a card here that will change all that."

"Oh, and what would that be?" Yukio watched the card intently as Reku slowly moved it towards his duel disk. His eyes widened as he saw something he didn't expect. Almost as if the world was moving in slow motion, the card inched its way to the duel disk. A tail of crimson red light flew off behind it as it made its journey through the air.

"I activate this card; Oracles Rage Incarnate Seal of Power – Ruby Crystal!" The card entered the slot on Reku's duel disk, causing a surge of power to blast out from the hole. Red sparks of lightning cracked across Reku's body as a ruby red aura proceeded to engulf Reku's being. A strange, circular design formed on his head, looking like a group of lines off to the right side of this circle, forming an abstract crescent moon.

The newly summoned machine monster began to roar, sparks of red lightning cracking their way across the surface of his scales. His body began to warp, a painful ripping sound coming from all down the dragons body. Large, ruby coloured crystals began to blast through the hide of the beast, jutting upwards.

Roaring, the monster stomped its massive foot into the ground. A red aura bursting up from the bottom of his feet, consuming his legs then up across his body until it came to the top of his head.

The crystal spikes ceased to come out of the monsters hide, leaving a very sharp looking machine dragon upon Reku's field. (3500/2000)

"_A one-thousand point boost and a vicious looking monster?"_ Yukio cocked an eyebrow, Reku's monster was indeed impressive, but he didn't quite see how this was going to stop his Zergo, who had identical attack points at the moment. "You realize that you can't overpower my monster, don't you?" His tough guy façade surved as a powerful front, but deep down he felt something to be afraid of. Reku's monster had more to it than what he thought, he just knew it!

"You're wrong Yukio." Reku's voice had changed; it took on a darker, more forceful tone. "My monster is now immortal, incapable of being destroyed in battle. So now attack! Wipe out his monster!"

Opening its maw, the monster revealed the silver coloured barrel inside. The gears began to turn, pushing the end of the barrel out slightly. A ball of flames erupted from the darkness of the cannon, blasting outwards and crashing into the chest of the large demon like monster. The monster soon blasted apart into tiny data fragments.

"Well, you're a fool then." Yukio slid his deck out of his duel disk. "Or has all these years rotted your memory? When Zergo leaves the field, I get to summon out Zergo's True Form! (4000/4000)"

A uprush of flames engulfed the area that once contained Zergo just seconds before. Now standing there was a more hideous version of Yukio's demonic creature. The hideous monster now had a set of devil horns erupting from the top of its skull, and two longer, blood soaked fangs hanging from his upper lip. The blue skin of the monster had darkened, almost making it back, but illuminated by a red glow from the monsters eyes. Two gray scaled wings had burst from out of the back of the monster, flapping every once and a while to keep the monster hovering inches about Yukio's field.

"No, I didn't forget, I just need to tell you two more things." Reku held up his right hand, two fingers being held up to identify that he had two items on his list. "First, my monster can attack every monster on the field in the same battle phase." His middle finger dropped down into his fist, the first item spoken. "Second, I reveal my set quick play magic card; Sacred Blue Flame! This card increases the attack points of a fire monster on my field by 500 points."

The green mechanical lizard began to roar, a blast of blue fire engulfing his body (4000/2000). With his mouth still open, he blasted out two flame balls that were deep blue in colour. The two of them raced across the field, one crashing into the small glass orb that was still on Yukio's field, the other smashing into the newly summoned demonic creature. The two of them exploded, a wave of blue flames rushing back over Yukio who had to shield himself from the heat.

"_This is bad…"_ Tal observed, stepping forward towards Yukio. "Alright, Yukio concedes this duel. He has more pressing matters to attend to."

"What!" Yukio glared up at the man who had spoken. He felt the strong hand of Tal clamp around his shoulder. "I have no where to go. I'm not surrendering this duel to this loser!"

"You are, you've lost." Tal growled a light rushing through his shirt from his chest. The medallion that was wrapped around his neck had activated, sending out streams of shadows. The strands of darkness wrapped around the three other bodies of Tal's little team, consuming and then sucking their body mass away, leaving no trace of any of them. The shadows then proceeded to wrap around Tal's bulky body, dragging his mass into the darkness until he was completely gone.

"_He still has his shadow magic."_ Akina bit her lower lip, watching the scene unfold before her. Looking on, she watched the ruby colored aura vanish from around her boyfriend, his body then faltering and waving back and forth. Within a few seconds, she had closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around him.

"Woah…" He exclaimed, reaching up and placing his hand on his head. "It's been a while since I've felt that power. It's kinda overwhelming." Reku's body was shaking a bit, cracks of ruby coloured lightning still tracing is way down his skin before fizzling out.

"What a powerful card, that crystal card." Kaira joined the other two, trotting up to them and moving around before them. "I see now what you mean when you said you've used some increasable powers."

"Yeah…" Reku looked up at the girl, then to his monster that was still sitting on the field. Growling deep in its throat, the Mech Dragon Blaster Ruby Mode finally vanished from the field, leaving a whisk of ruby colored smoke twisting its way into the darkening sky.

Suddenly, the three of their heads were jerked skyward as a females voice came booming into the vicinity.

"**Reku, I felt the energy of your crystal and then it faded, are you alright? What happened?"** It was Order, panic striking every cord of her voice as she spoke to them.

Kaira, never having heard such a strange thing, was also panicking, backing up and shivering. _"It's not every day that strange, loud, female voices yell from the sky."_

"We're fine Order." Reku called back, neither him nor Akina noticing the freaked out Kaira who was trying to get away from the area, but frozen almost in place. "It's hard to explain, but old faces are popping up like weeds, all under the control of Freyr."

"**I was afraid of that, I'll bring you here, there are some people here you need to meet. Where is Ronin, I don't sense his presence?"** Order's voice faded as Reku's eyes fell to the dark grass below. Sighing, he shook his head.

"I don't have a clue; he took off running like a mad man. Something seems to have gotten into him." Reku's voice wavered slightly as he thought about what he just said. Taking a deep breath, he looked back up at the sky. "I'm beginning to wonder if it doesn't have something to do with him loosing to Dementia. Normally we can recover after a duel, even a darkness game, pretty quickly. But he was completely wiped out."

"**It's all very possible I suppose. Alright, hold on a second."** Order's voice trailed off as well as she began to transport Reku, Akina, and an unwilling Kaira who found it impossible to run once the intense light began to surround her.

Soon enough the three of them found themselves in the golden room that Order had turned into her basic head-quarters. Reku and Akina had their footing on the ground in no time, unlike Kaira who found herself spinning a bit and then colliding with the golden tiled floor.

A roaring laughter broke through the chamber, snapping Reku's and Akina's head over to the far end of the room as they followed the trail of sound. There, the silver haired boy they recognized of old was sitting in the large golden throne rolling with laughter. Next to him, leaning up against the wall where three figures neither Reku nor Akina had never seen before. One of them with raven black hair was also doubled over laughing his heart out.

"All this time and she still has no coordination!" He taunted lifting his finger up to point at the grounded Kaira. Gurabe made an agreeing noise deep in his throat as he nodded, still laughing his heart out at Kaira.

"You guys sure are mean." Another of the unidentified figures scolded, glaring at his companion and the young man in the chair. His hair was sky blue, reflecting the light of the torches in the golden room. His sun yellow eyes fixed on the two of them, parental anger flowing through them.

"SHUT UP HERURU!" Kaira's voice broke over the rolling laughter, the angry blond girl storming past Reku and Akina up to the laughing figure. She lifted her finger, pointing angrily at the man who had stopped laughing, but was still snickering. She opened her mouth to yell at him some more, then she lost what she was going to say. Instead; "Wait, why are you guys here?" Looking around, she looked back at them. "Where is here?"

Gurabe, who had stopped laughing with the figure, Heruru, broke out laughing again, slapping his knees with how stupid Kaira's comment was. Looking back at her, he continued to snicker as well.

"Human's not too bright, is she?" He asked the three figures against the wall.

"Never has been." Heruru shot back, getting a very cold glare from the girl before him. "Even funnier, she actually thinks she can scare me."

It was then that Reku's intense, confused gaze at the scene unfolding before him was interrupted by a sharp elbow to the rib cage. Grabbing his side, he looked to see what hit him. It was Akina, staring at Kaira and the three new figures as well.

"How in the world does she know these people, and who are they?" She whispered into Reku's ear as he crouched down slightly to her. Shrugging slightly, Reku straightened back up.

"I have no clue."

"Well, we spent quite a good deal of time together about…oh…five years ago." One of the figures spoke, the one with sky blue hair. "Her and a man named Kiro Rinku. Allow me to introduce us. My name is Hebanu. The one here with a laughing disorder is named Heruru." This made Hebanu receive a very cold glare from the black haired companion. "And this guy here is named Kooru." Hebanu, ignoring the stare, motioned to the silver haired man on the other side of him.

"So you three are the demons that he was talking about." Reku pointed to the three of them, getting a nod from the one identified as Kooru. Scratching his chin, Reku looked around the room. Order and Deruku were standing by a golden table, silent so to not interrupt the drama. Gurabe was slouched over in the golden chair next to the three demons against the wall. Kaira still standing before them. "Seems we've constructed quite an arsenal of odd faces."

"Not quite yet." Order broke in, waving her arm. "There are still two more willing participants to join this group. They are waiting right now, so just give me a moment to fetch them." Closing her eyes, the dull red haired woman began to hum slightly, drawing on the power that lay inside of her.

A flash of light raced through the chamber, originating at a ball of energy in an open area before Reku and Akina. Seconds later, the ball of light vanished, leaving two familiar faces standing a bit dumbstruck at the gawking crowd. Joe and Kevin had made their appearance.

* * *

Ronin's legs were burning, his lungs furiously begging for some air to replenish them. The sweat poured down his head by the buckets full, stinging it his eyes and causing him to taste the saltiness of them as they dripped down into his open mouth.

He wasn't even sure why he was running. He had been ever sense he burst out of Reku's house and knocked him to the ground.

His mind was in a blur, he could make out heads or tails of his thoughts as he pounded down the stone sidewalk. All he could think about was the last conversation he had with Reku. His final thoughts before he went busting out of Reku's house and past the figures standing on Reku's lawn. His sudden new vow to himself; _I'm always the weak one compared to you Reku. I'm always the one who sits in your shadow as you rise higher and higher to greatness. I'll show you. You won't be the one having the final laugh this time._

Vaguely, off in the distance of his conciseness, he heard his named being called. His body though ignored it, continuing to run blindly down the street. It seemed as if the voice was trying to get his attention, but it his mind blocked it out. Ronin didn't want to talk to anyone, not even voices in the deepest part of his head.

Meanwhile, the real owner of the voice stood a bit dumbfounded on the street. Ryokurio stood scratching the back of his head as he watched Ronin disappear over a hump in the road. He had been out unloading stuff from his pickup when Ronin had raced by like a bullet.

"Well that was strange." He commented to himself, debating what he should do. _"Ronin looked a bit shaken, and like he's been running for a good long while. He doesn't look healthy at all."_

"Hey brother, what's going on?" Usami yelled from the house as she, followed close in toe by Sachiko, ran across the small yard to her dumbfounded brother. "What were you yelling at just now?" She asked, looking down the street the direction her brother was facing. By now, Ronin was gone from sight, so she couldn't see anything.

"It was Ronin, running full boar down the street." Ryokurio looked down at his sister, than up a bit to look at Sachiko who seemed disgusted at the mere name. Turning up her nose, she walked away from the two siblings and sat down on the bumper of Ryokurio's truck.

Elbowing her brother slightly in the ribs, she stood up on her tip toes and whispered into his ear: "Watch what you say about him. I think its still a very sore subject for Sachiko yet."

"I understand." Ryokurio nodded, his sister setting herself back down on the flats of her feet. Ryokurio looked back down the street, sighing slightly. "I don't know, he just looked like he was in bad shape. I think there is something the matter with him." He was still whispering slightly, scratching his chin while he spoke. He soon made up his mind. "Very well, I'm going after him."

"But you just got here." His sister protested. "Whatever is going on with Ronin I'm sure he can handle it on his own."

"I would hate to leave him out there if he's really suffering." He walked past his shorter sister, heading for his silver truck. "I don't really care if he can handle it on his own or not, I just know that if he's struggling in some kind of internal battle, that he will need help to get out of it." Placing his hand on the handle of his door, Ryokurio's eyes stared off into the void. "Trust me; I know what I'm talking about."With that, he pulled open the door of his truck and hopped in. Sachiko jumped off the bumper and moved out of the way of the truck so it could back up.

Usami's eyes widened as she finally realized what her brother was talking about. _"That's right; he was possessed by the power of the Orichalcos once. All because he was having a huge inner conflict within himself, and the darkness flowed out of his soul because of his solitude inside. All he needed was someone to save him, and I was just a bit too late to react then."_ She gulped slightly. _"He doesn't want Ronin, or anyone, to be left alone like he was."_

Ryokurio's truck backed out of the driveway, turned to face the direction he last saw Ronin heading in and sped off down the street, leaving a slight trail of dust behind it as it moved across the pavement in the late evening neighborhood.

Sachiko, at the same time, was lost in her own thoughts. Her face and eyes showed no emotion at all as she finished watching Ryokurio disappear over the hump in the road. Turning, she made her way back to the house with Usami following behind her after a short pause.

"_I don't really care about Ronin, and I don't want to see his damn face again. But…"_ Sachiko's eyes drifted slowly to the darkening sky above. _"…I do have to wonder what the matter with him is."_

She entered the house, not showing any emotion of what she was thinking or feeling as she did so. Usami decided against saying anything, just letting the long haired girl be alone for a while. When she was ready, Usami knew that she would talk.

* * *

Ronin found himself in a dark alley way, panting hard as he leaned against a cold brick wall. His legs began to wobble under him, giving out and dropping the young man down onto the ground below.

"_What is going on with me!"_ His mind screamed, racing for any kind of answer. _"Why am I acting like this!"_

His fingers scraped against the cold ground as he curled them into fists. Hand trembling, he picked up a small stone that lay on the ground next to him, and chucked it down into the blackness of the alley. He could hear it cracking as it hit brick and stone. Echo's tracing their way down the small corridor. Growing dimmer and fainter, the ricocheting sound finally died out, leaving only silence.

"It's because right now I am so weak." Ronin's voice was strained as he spoke, vile filling his words as he hated to admit them to himself. "I am too weak to do jack shit!" Closing his eyes tight, he began to grind his teeth. "And look at me now, reduced to throwing a pity party because of how much of a loser I am!"

His eyes snapped open, as his fingers grasped around every loose rock in the vicinity of his hand. They all soon found themselves cracking against the opposite wall, flying into it at full force.

"I was beginning to wonder if that wasn't what your problem was. It kinda looked like it when you went racing out of that house earlier." A voice came from the darkness of the alley way. Snapping his head up, Ronin watched helplessly as a tall, buff man walked out from the shadows. A cold smirk dawned his face, accompanied by his cruel looking brown eyes. "Its power you want right? You've been left behind and no matter what you try; you just can't seem to win."

"How…did…you know that?" Ronin slowly pushed himself up the wall, never once taking his eyes off the man before him. Once he was standing again, he stood there defiant of the man before him. "Answer me."

"It's easy to see." The man shrugged slightly. "And besides, you've just told me that every thing I said is right." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a stack of brown backed Duel Monsters cards. "I don't want anything from you, but here, I want you to have a small gift." Extending his hand, the man offered the cards to Ronin, who hesitantly took them.

"Then why give me cards?" Ronin asked, fanning out the cards but not looking at them just yet. "There must be something you want, no one just hands cards away."

"Well, now that you mention it." The man shoved his hands into his pockets and turned around. Slowly he began to walk into the shadows. "I want you to become stronger, to defeat your rivals and show them your incredible might. Make your deck with those cards I have given to you, and in return you will become truly stronger than anyone."

Ronin's head was still pounding, not really much energy was in him to argue with the strangely familiar man. One last question did pop into his mind though before the man vanished into the shadows of the alley.

"Who are you?"

"Ronin, Ronin, Ronin." The man stopped, shaking his head. Out of the corner of his eye, the man stared at the young man who was still leaning up against the wall. "You know me, I'm your old hated enemy; Tal."

"Tal…" Ronin was shocked, taken back by the sudden appearance of the old enemy they had fought all those years ago.

"Yeah, though now I'm working under a new master." Tal spoke softly as he turned and continued to walk into the shadows. "Don't mistake my kindness here as us being allies. If you stand in Freyr's way, I will have to take you out. But even so, you seem like you could be a greater force to recon with all on your own. You know what you want to do, and what you have to do. It's up to you to make the choice." And with that Tal vanished into the endless darkness, leaving a stunned Ronin standing there with the fanned out cards in his hand.

Looking down, he began to look over each of the new weapons he had. It was so amazing to him to see such cards that he lost his balance and fell once again to the cold ground below. He sat there for a long time, just staring at the new cards.

"I can become powerful with these." Ronin looked up, gazing into the cold brick of the opposite wall. His voice starting to fill with a bit of malice as he spoke through smirking lips. "I can show everyone. I don't need Reku or anyone else. I can be the most increasable force anyone has ever seen!" Looking down one last time, he squeezed his hand around the cards he held. "And I can do it on my own terms."

* * *

"If things go as planned, I've even started to break their group down from the inside." Tal smirked, walking into the subway chamber again.

In the chamber sat a very annoyed Yukio, as well as his two former team mates; Akiaki and Seki. On the other end of the chamber, Hygin and Archip were leaning against the wall, both looking at Tal very curious with his last statement.

"How'd you manage that?" Archip asked, pushing himself away from the wall and walking over to the buff leader of the human group. "I mean, they seem to have a pretty good bond of friendship. It wouldn't be very easy to get inside of that and tear it all down."

"Oh, but it was incredibly easy." Tal spoke on the contrary. Walking past the five people sitting there, he moved to the edge of the platform looking out over the abandoned tracks. "Ronin seems to be struggling with himself. A bit of doubt brought to the surface, and I exposed that just like I did last time."

"Last time?" Akiaki, who had been completely quite, finally asked drawing all heads and eyes to him. He was wearing a tattered blue shirt now, covered by an open leather jacket which just hung from his shoulders. His blond hair still long and a total mess around his head.

"Yeah, last time." Tal nodded, realizing that none of those three had ever heard the tales of what happened after they were lost in the darkness. "I had played with Ronin's emotions for a girl just enough to drive him into an utter conflict with his best friend. The battle that was waged after that was one that almost shook the very foundation of the Earth."

"Think he would do it again?" Seki asked, also breaking her complete silence of so long. "I mean, who's to say that this doubt of his will last very long?"

"I'm almost positive of it." The smirk that crossed Tal's face at this time made all but Yukio slid back a step. "Ronin is quite emotionally unstable I've observed. I think when he lost to Dementia something happened to his pride that finally made him snap. I can't say if its was just the loss in general, or if Dementia has some sort of dark magic involved in it." Looking around, he saw that his confidence in this young man was a bit shocking to them all. "Trust me, he is still sane enough that he wouldn't work for Freyr of his own will, but I think he's snapped enough that he's not a part of the other group anymore either. A lone vigilantly, taking the law into his own hand." Clenching his hand into a fist, Tal turned back to the tracks that lay unused. "And I'm sure he's planning to do just that."

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

Barrel Dragon  
2600/2200/7/Dark/Machine  
Toss a coin 3 times. If 2 out of 3 results are Heads, destroy 1 monster on your opponent's side of the field. You can only use this effect once per turn, during your Main Phase.

Kaira: "Well it would seem that there is a lot going on now. I mean, ever since I met Ronin earlier this morning, I never imagined all the crazy stuff that has happened would ever! But I digress, right now, were looking at a pretty powerful machine monster used by Reku. Barrel Dragon is a two tribute monster with a pretty devastating effect, but only if you can pull it off. It's a gamble if it will work or not, having to hope to flip two heads at least. The good news is that there is no draw back if you fail to do so. And at 2600 attack points, this is quite a force on the offensive as well. I hope you all enjoyed watching this bad boy in action and continue to come back for more!"

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	11. Demon from Egypt! Maximum Force!

Episode 11: Demon from Egypt! Maximum Force!

"I see." Joe scratched his chin, amazed at what he, and Kevin as well, was just filled in on.

Since they had arrived in the golden chamber with everyone around a lot of talking had been happening, filling in everyone of the current situation. Once it was done, then an odd silence fell over everyone in the entire room. That is, until Joe spoke once again.

"So you have reason to believe that Freyr is on his way here right now, correct?" He was asking the white robed figure; Order. Solemnly she nodded her head, strands of her red hair falling down onto her pale skinned face.

"I feel their energies coming this way at a fast pace now." She spoke in a calm manner, but a terrible horror filled the words she spoke. "And in such a short time, all of the energies of the three of them have grown immensely. This isn't going to be pleasant when they arrive here in just a short while."

"I wouldn't worry." Heruru snickered, leaning back against the wall. Sliding his hands behind his head he created himself a small pillow to rest his head on while he continued to speak. "You may have been weak in unprepared the last time they arrived, but this time, since were here, the power level has increased 100 fold. Freyr and his moron squad won't be getting that crystal."

"Right, if nothing else, we promise to protect that crystal with our lives." Kooru nodded his head, bowing slightly to show respect. Though his thoughts weren't on actually saving the crystal, but on his smug subordinate. _"Heruru talks of big game, but I know he is really just hiding his true fear. He, like me and his brother are scared witless. I know he can feel the incredible power coming this way. And I know he realizes that one of them alone is stronger than the three of us combined, even though they are still at a weakened state of energy." _

"Well, whenever they get here, they will have all of us to deal with." Joe turned, flashing the thumbs up sign at Reku, who, after only a few secondsof hesitating, flashed it back. "We'll all do our best so that the crystal doesn't fall into his greedy little hands."

"Well, from what I recall." Reku's face grew very serious as he spoke, his arm dropping down to his side where it swung freely. "His hands are razor sharp claws, and well, each being bigger than your entire head. This isn't some small, ordinary villain; this is a behemoth of a monster."

"Even so, we've got to try our best." Kevin jumped in, drawing Reku's attention solely onto him. "It'll be even worse if he gets a hold of even a small fragment of the crystal. Who knows what he could do with that kind of power." Turning his own head, Kevin gazed at the three demons lining the wall, then to the red haired woman. "And if he's as strong as you say he is, than that could be disastrous to the world's common health."

"It's a bit worse than that." Deruku interrupted Kevin before he could go any farther, dragging all eyes to him. "Freyr and his loyal servants have incredible power on their own. Even without the crystal, if they wanted to, they could be a terrible threat to either, or both, worlds."

"Then why go after the crystal?" Reku inquired, cocking his head to the side a bit.

"So that no one could ever oppose him in the future." Kooru answered the black haired young man from his place against the wall. Leaning back so his full weight was being pressed against the golden brick that made up the wall, he crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Even if he now could easily rise to power, what's stopping future generations of warrior from finding some kind of Achilles heal to him? I think he wants the power of the crystal to insure his place at the top of the food chain for all eternity."

Everyone in the room instantly stiffened their spinal cords as they felt the intense wave of power rushing over the building. It didn't take any sudden hints for each of them to figure out Freyr and his two goons had finally arrived, coming into focus in the large hole still dawning the far wall of the room where they had busted through on their first visit to the room.

"You lovely darlings wouldn't happen to be talking about little ol' us now would you?" Dementia, in her accented voice, chuckled slightly as she placed her right, purple skinned hand at the bottom of her slightly sharp tipped chin.

"Seems they are having quite the gathering of hopeless dreamers here." Thoth threw in, taking a gaze around the room full of people. He also smirked slightly, revealing a few pointed teeth from inside his mouth. "I just hope they all brought along their common sense and realize that they shouldn't be standing in our way."

"Yeah right!" Kevin stepped forward, the back of his mind racing with the thought that this was the stupidest thing he has ever done. Curling his fingers in into a fist, he continued to draw out the courage, or lack there of, from deep within. "You'll never get what you want, 'cause we're going to stop you."

"Hmm, the human has spunk." Thoth robbed his slightly elongated chin, looking up at the red skinned demon that stood next to him. "Master, since Dementia had the fun last time we were here, allow me the opportunity to take out this worthless piece of shit."

"Do as you wish Thoth." Freyr offered, letting his subordinate have the command he wanted. Stepping back a step he started walking towards the wall where the door that lead to the hallway, leading down to the location of the crystal was held. "Dementia you stay here as well, keep these insolent pests in line."

"Yes Lord Freyr." Dementia bowed slightly, turning a cold smirk on the inhabitants of the room. "Don't worry master; it shouldn't be hard to do a little pest control. They all seem pathetic enough."

"See as you do Dementia." Fryer continued to walk towards the door with incredible stride. Stopping, he stared at the double doors, now with the three demon figures that were standing at the other end of the chamber just moments before. They all were in a battle pose, glaring daggers at Freyr, warning him to keep his distance. Instead, he rolled all three of his eyes. "Psssh. You three are quite pathetic to think you could stand in _my_ way. Unless…" He cocked one of his normal two eyes, a smirk sliding up the side of his mouth. "Ye all have come to bow down to me."

"Yeah, right." Heruru sneered, annoyed by the ridiculous idea being thrown at him. "And then you wake up from your deluded dream. We would never bow down to a ass like you in our entire lives."

"Very well." Freyr closed his eyes, seeming rather calm that he had just been rejected. "Play your foolish games, and…" All three of his eyes snapped open, the red iris's inside sending out blood thirsty pulse waves as the anger built within them. "…I will make you bow down!"

Thrusting his two arms forward, he aimed the palms of his hands at the three guards to the door. Instantly, a hundred tiny, glowing yellow balls of energy blasted off of the surface of his hand, crashing into the front side of each of the demons and instantly sending them hurdling backwards through the golden door, busting both of them off their hinges.

Stepping forward, Order, Deruku and Gurabe watched in horror as Freyr disappeared into the darkness of the corridor beyond the door. They knew that the only ones strong enough here to even stand up to Freyr was the three demons who just got blasted through the door. There was nothing any of them could do, so they turned their attention back to the four young people that were facing down the two remaining savants of Freyr.

"So little human, you wish to test your skills against me, ne? Back up the big words of yours with your actions." Thoth taunted Kevin, holding up his left hand as he spoke. On his left wrist sat a small gauntlet that seemed to open a small hatch on the side of it. A chunk of metal was spit out of the hole, folding out in an unexplainable way to create a long, five field slotted duel disk. Hardening, the strange metal thickened to make a good sized dueling plate. "Come on, step forward and show me what you've got!"

"Fine." Kevin stepped forward slightly, the duel disk on his left arm hummed to life, snapping out its arms to create his own duel plate. Sliding down to the side of the device, the arms pulled back in, locking the duel plate into position for the duel. The life point counter started beeping, counting up to 4000 life points.

From his pocket he produced a deck of dueling cards, sliding them into his duel disk's card holder. From there, his right hand slowly dropped back down to his pocket from where he pulled his deck from. Reaching inside, he wrapped his fingers around a small, glass container that was resting in there.

"_I may not have it anymore, but…"_ Sighing, he felt a bit sick as his fingers trembled around the smooth glass surface. _"…please give me strength."_ Pulling his hand back out, he placed it on the top card of his deck, waiting for Thoth to put his deck into his duel disk. "I'm waiting on you." He spoke, not rudely, but just informative.

"You seem to believe that you stand a chance." Thoth grinned, finally sliding a stack of cards into a slot that had popped up on the gauntlet in his write. On top of the slot where the deck was placed, an dusty screen lit up, displaying the life points for Thoth as well.

Within seconds, they both snapped the top five cards from their deck, fanning them out for their opening hand. Simultaneously they both called out; "Duel!"

Kevin-4000 LP  
Thoth-4000 LP

"I shall begin mortal." Thoth slid the top card from the stack of cards that was left in his deck, snapping it around; he quickly added it to his hand of cards. Surveying his options with a quick rush of his stone grey eyes, he made his choice. "And my first card is a permanent magic card known as Blessing of the Nile! While its in place, every time you force me to discard cards from my hand, I'll gain 1000 life points."

A green bordered card appeared before Thoth, the image on the cards surface depicted a scene in Egypt. A Pyramid set on a wasteland type ground, sitting next to the flowing waters of the Nile River.

"Well, that's fine with me." Kevin shrugged a bit, looking down at the cards in his hand for a second before glancing back up at the strange Egyptian looking monster that was dueling him. "I didn't plan to force you to discard any cards at all."

"Wow, you're slow to get it." Thoth held up another card he was holding, sliding it into an empty magic/trap zone on the large golden duel disk he was wearing. "Blessings of the Nile is a bit to risky to just hope on. So instead I'm going to force your hand. I activate the magic card; Curse of the Sphinx!" The card appeared on the field next to Thoth's opening magic card. This cards picture was of a man cowering on a ground before a large, black coloured sphinx, glowing with a blood red aura. "This card allows me to select one permanent magic card in my hand and activate it…on your side of the field."

Pulling out one of the remaining four cards, Thoth tossed it with true aim at Kevin. Catching it between his fingers, Kevin turned the cards face to him so he could see what it was. His face paled slightly at the card titled; Seizure of Goods

"_This isn't good. The Seizure of Goods card is a continuous magic card that, during each of my standby phases, forces the opponent to discard one card from their hand. Then they will gain 500 life points. With Blessings of the Nile on the field, that is a total of 1500 points of life gain a turn!"_ Kevin growled slightly, annoyed at the strategy that his opponent was already setting up. Hesitantly, he slid the card into his duel disk, causing the card to appear before him on the dueling field.

"I guess that the highlight of my turn is done." Thoth announced, pulling one of the last few cards in his hand out, slapping it horizontally on a monster slot on his duel disk. "So to end my turn I'll just summon a monster known as Sphinx Militant (1100/800) in defense mode. You're move," Thoth grinned slightly as he spoke, forming the last word slowly so to annoy Kevin. "Human."

On a horizontal card, a small, tan warrior monster appeared. His head was that of one of the great sphinxes of Egypt, adorned with a golden head dress as well. In his hands he held a long, wooden spear with a sharp tip at the end, surrounded with a metal, razor sharp, edge.

"Draw!" Kevin announced, pulling the top card form his deck. The instant he did that, the active magic card on his field began to glow, reminding Kevin that its effect had kicked in. Sighing, he pointed to his opponent's hand. "Fine, as per the rules of Seizure of Goods, I force you to discard the card on your right."

"Very well." Thoth smirked, flipping the card over and placing it into the graveyard slot on his duel disk, which was sitting in the back of the gauntlet behind where his deck sat. Kevin recognized the card as a trap card known as Earthshaker, an odd trap card. Both Thoth's Blessings of the Nile and Seizure of Goods began to glow, showering Thoth in a blanket of sparkly lights.

Kevin-4000 LP  
Thoth-5500 LP

"It doesn't matter." Kevin reassured himself out loud, also trying to sound a bit boastful to Thoth. "I summon my Skilled Black Magician in attack mode first off (1900/1700)." Kevin slapped the said monster card from his hand down onto his duel disk, the device instantly reading the cards data and producing the appropriate monster hologram on the field.

Appearing on Kevin's field was a young man, dressed all in black robes. Two black pads coverd the shoulders of the monster, each one having a strange orb embedded into them. A strange triangular design was drawn on each of them. The monster had a third orb on the padding that ran down the front of his robe, connecting the two shoulder pads together. In his hand he twirled a staff like magic wand back and forth.

"Go! Attack Sphinx Militant with Skilled Black Magic!" Kevin called, snapping his arm down towards the crouching monster. The magic wand in the hands of the young sourcerer mimicked the motion of its master, sending a stream of black energy racing from the tip of the staff and engulfing the defending monster.

Kevin wasn't done yet though, he pulled two card from his hand and slid them into two different slots on his duel disk.

"Seems I'll just set two cards face-down on my side of the field, ending my turn."

"Darling, your move is far to pathetic to match the power of Thoth." Dementia chimed in from the side lines, though Kevin did his best to ignore the vampire woman. Smirking at his determination, she looked back to her partner. _"Though can be just as brutal as I can be when I duel. This kid is in for one heck of a ride."_

"You waste air trying to convince him otherwise Dementia." Thoth glared at the vampire, a bit of anger running through his eyes. "The pathetic human will never get it, so I'll just have to knock it into him. Unlike you though, I don't play around." Turning back to Kevin, Thoth placed his long tan fingers on the brown back of his deck. "Draw!"

"_So far he has two cards in his hand and no monsters. My Skilled Black Magician has a good 1900 attack points. Plus, every magic card played will give him a counter."_ Looking down at his deck of cards briefly, Kevin smiled to himself. _"Three counters and I can summon my good buddy Dark Magician."_ Looking back up, he saw Thoth contemplating his next move, wanting to make the most of it Kevin assumed. _"Even so, my monster has enough power that its going to be hard for him to over come easily. Even gaining so many life points a turn, if I'm lucky, I can turn the tide on him in no time."_

"_Two magic cards huh?"_ Thoth looked at the card he had drawn, and the one he already held in his hand. _"Won't be the easiest move I've ever made, but it'll have to do."_ Sliding the newly drawn card into his duel disk, Thoth announced his next play. "I activate the magic card Hieroglyphic Hierarchy."

Kevin watched a bit confused as the green boarded card appeared before Thoth on the field. Instantly, Thoth pulled out his deck of cards and fanned it out, pulling out two cards that he saw instantly in the middle of his deck. Shuffling his deck once, he placed it back into its deck holder on his wrist bracelet.

"Hieroglyphic Hierarchy works like this, I select two monsters in my deck that are level five or higher. I show these monsters to you, and then you must select one for me to keep in my hand, the other one going instantly to my graveyard." Flipping the two cards over, Kevin began to ponder his choices.

"_Let see."_ He put his right hand on his chin, examining the two cards. _"Hieracosphinx and Criosphinx. One is a 2400 attack point monster, for six stars is not bad. The other being 1200 attack points at six stars, which is bit on the low side."_ Kevin scanned his memory for a second, trying to remember all he could about the cards. Not pulling much info on them, he decided to just go with his first instinct. "Alright, you keep Criosphinx, discard Hieracosphinx to the grave."

"Very well." Thoth placed the said monster into his graveyard slot, adding the other monster to his hand to make a total of two cards. Taking the other card that was there he placed it into his duel disk. "Activate the magic card Monster Reborn. This card will revive one monster onto my field. The card I choose is…"

"_His Hieracosphinx. No matter what I did he was going to summon it anyways."_ Kevin squeezed his hand into a fist, a bit annoyed at the sudden advantage his opponent was about to take. A wave of shock washed over him as the unexpected happened.

"I revive Sphinx Militant now, in defense mode (1100/800)." Thoth announced, slapping the said monster card down horizontally on his duel disk. Once again, the tan skinned warrior appeared on the field before Thoth, the spear crossed over his body to protect it. His sphinx head lowered, almost growling at the opponent.

At the same time, the orbs on the shoulders of the Skilled Black Magician began to glow, emanating a radiant light from each of them.

"Hmm, one more magic card and you can activate the power of your worthless monster." Thoth observed, watching as the magician as well as Kevin glared at him. Chuckling a bit to himself, Thoth took the last card in his hand and slapped it down on his duel disk. "Well, I just normal summon my Criosphinx in defense mode and end my turn (1200/2400)."

A brown horse like body appeared over the horizontal orange card image on Thoth's field. The monster had a blue upper body, and a head that looked a bit more like a ram's head than any kind of sphinxes. Large, lime green feathered wings jutted from the back of the horse like body, flapping once or twice to stretch them out.

"Wait." Kevin pointed to Thoth's newly summoned monster. "How did you summon it without losing your Sphinx Militant? It should have gone to the graveyard as part of the sacrifice to summon it."

"Typically, yes." Thoth motioned to the actual card on his duel disk. "Though my Sphinx Militant comes with a unique power, draining two whole levels off of any sphinx monster in my hand. This, in turn, made my Criosphinx a level four monster, and able to be summoned to the field as such." Looking up again, Thoth was smirking darkly. "What's the matter? Don't like the fact that I could double up a wall instead of just having one monster on my field as protection?"

"Whatever." Kevin was trying to recalculate his plan as he spoke, slowly drawing the top card of his deck to see what it was. _"His Sphinx Militant could become deadly after a while, summoning level five and six monsters as if they were level three and four. And making most two tribute monsters in the game a single tribute if their levels are seven or eight. Even if his Criosphinx is a bit stronger in defense, I think I need to take out that little pest before it swarms an entire army of super powerful sphinxes." _

While Kevin was thinking, the active Seizure of Goods card began to glow, but the light soon faded out as it realized that Thoth's hand was completely empty. Moving Kevin right into his own main phase.

"Trap card open!" Kevin cried, snapping his hand down to one of his two set cards. Flipping up, it produced a small, black orb with three glowing triangles on it as part of a larger triangle design. "Pitch-Black Power Stone! This trap comes equipped with three spell counters of its own, and once per turn, I may transfer one of these counters to a monster on my field who uses spell counters." Pointing to his Skilled Black Magician, Kevin announced; "Transfer power to my monster!"

The third and center orb on the monsters vest began to glow, showing it was now infused with the third spell counter it needed. A rush of energy erupted from the ground under the robed monster, engulfing him in the light and producing a new figure in its place.

"I tribute Skilled Black Magician in order to call forth; Dark Magician!" Kevin cried out as the light burst away from the body of the new figure. A purple rob fell to the ground, accompanied by the crashing sound of a large metal green pole being pounded to the ground. The purple haired spell caster glared out from under its pointed hat like headdress, glaring at its opponents (2500/2100).

"Your new monster is weak." Thoth rolled his eyes. "You waste energy to summon him to the field. Then again, I suppose weak humans need to have cards that show off their weakness to suit them." Chuckling at his own joke, the Egyptian demon made Kevin grow slightly red in the face.

"Keep laughing, that's why you're the one on the defensive here!" Kevin snapped his arm forward. "Go, attack Sphinx Militant! Dark Magic Attack!"

The green staff like magic wand was snapped forward, aiming directly at the crouching tan warrior. An eruption of energy was sent spiraling from the tip of it, crashing into the chest of the monster. A horrid scream came from the stone like mouth of the monster before it shattered into many small data fragments.

"I end my turn there." Kevin slid his arm across his body, his magician resting the magic wand of his at his side once again. _"So far so good I 'spose. He's not put up too grand of a fight, and at least I hold the strongest monster on my field. Hopefully I'll be able to start taking chunks out of his life points." _

"My turn, draw!" Thoth snapped the top card from his deck, sliding it around his body so he could see its face. "Magic card; Pot of Greed! Allowing me to draw twice more." Thoth proceeded then to snap two more cards from his deck, fanning them out before his eyes to see what he had to work with. "Alright, I set one card face down on my field, ending my turn." He declared, sliding one of the two cards into his duel disk face down. A ripple of light appeared besides his still active magic card, creating a set card image on his field.

"Then it's my turn, draw!" Kevin cried as he pulled the top card from his deck and added it to his hand. The Seizure of Goods card still resting on his field began to glow, sending out a beam of light from the image.

"Looks like I'm being forced to discard a card by you again. Oh well." Thoth shrugged an egotistical grin on his elongated face. Flipping the card over he placed it in his graveyard slot. "The card I must discard this time is known as; Sinister Serpent. During each of my standby phases it'll come back to my hand if it exists in the graveyard. So well, giving me a constant discard to the effect of your Seizure of goods. Speaking of which, it and my Blessings of the Nile activate, giving me 1500 more life points."

Kevin-4000 LP  
Thoth-7000 LP

"Your live points don't matter, I'll still win!" Kevin snapped his hand out so he was pointing to the blue bodied sphinx monster resting on Thoth's field. "Dark Magician attack! Use Dark Magic to destroy his monster!"

"It would, had I not set this trap card last turn." Thoth snapped his arm down, pointing to his set card. "Compulsory Evacuation Device returns 1 monster on the field to its owner's hand. So I chose to return Dark Magician to your hand." A strange brown and gray box appeared around Kevin's monster, opening a four paneled roof at the very top of it and sending a rag doll like Dark Magician flying high into the sky before vanishing into a ripple of yellow light.

Sighing, Kevin picked up the yellow bordered card from his duel disk, flipped it over and added it back to his hand of cards. That is when he noticed Thoth's monster growling slightly seeming to be a bit annoyed.

"Oh yes, Criosphinx's effect activates. When a monster is returned from the field to its owner's hand, you must discard one card from your hand now. So what will you be getting rid of?"

Holding up a card named; Chaos Command Magician, Kevin slowly placed it into his graveyard slot before returning his hand to his the four cards he still held, pulling out one of them he slapped it down on his duel disk.

"It's still my turn, so I summon Royal Magical Library (0/2000) in face-up defense mode." A small, display like monster appeared on Kevin's field, consisting of three layers of books. On each layer a platform jutted outwards with a tiny robed man standing on it. Below the platform was a shiny green orb.

Kevin sighed, looking at the cards in his hand as well as one the field. He only had one set mystery card, so he was hoping that would be good enough.

"My turn is done."

"Then it's my turn." Thoth grinned, sliding the top card off his deck, and then pulling the card ejected from his graveyard up and holding it forward so Kevin could see it. "Sinister Serpent returns from my graveyard to my hand now." Flipping the card over, Thoth placed it in his hand with the newly drawn card, which he promptly snatched up and slapped down on his duel disk. "My next card will be this monster in defense mode. Mirror Sphinx (200/200) rise!"

A strange, glass plated cat looking monster appeared on Thoth's field next to his blue skinned monster. This new monster not being only about three feet high, standing as stiff as statue. The glass that made up its body seemed to have mirror like qualities, reflecting the flickering candle light of the room, as well as distorted images of its surroundings.

"This ends my turn." Thoth exclaimed, holding up his left hand with the one card in his hand. Obviously his Sinister Serpent, being ready to discard for the effect of Seizure of Goods.

"Draw." Kevin said, pulling the top card from his deck and adding it to his hand. As he tried to figure out his next move, he knew that Thoth had placed the card he was holding into his graveyard, his life points yet again skyrocketing upwards with the effect of the two cards on the field.

Kevin-4000 LP  
Thoth-8500 LP

"Alright, magic card activate!" Kevin snapped one of the cards from his hand out, whipping it through the air and placing it into his duel disk. "Pot of Greed activates!" One of the orbs began to glow brighter, trigged by the activation of Kevin's Magic card.

Kevin promptly snapped two cards from his deck, then pointed to his face down card which flipped up as well. Another green boarded card appeared this on with a pile of purple crystals right in the center.

"And then activate my set card; Mining for Magical Stones! At the cost of discarding two cards from my hand, I'm allowed to bring back any one magic card I choose." Kevin slid two of the five cards he now held in his hand into his graveyard, pulling out his ejected Pot of Greed card. Within moments that card was slid back into his duel disk, the third orb on his Library starting to glow. "I activate Pot of Greed again, as well as the effect of my Library. When there are three counters on it, I may discard all three counters in order to draw a new card."

Kevin promptly snapped three cards from the top of his deck, fanning them open to see what he had drawn. A smile slowly creped across his face, the cards being excellent draws for him.

"Now to continue my rise to power, I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior (1600/1000), attack mode!" Kevin's new monster, a red armored spell caster monster with a large, metal ridged shield and a long, silver double sided sword, appeared a flash of brilliant lights. The blade of his sword suddenly started glowing, a feint, light blue aura, causing the monster to suddenly start to grow stronger (1900/1000).

"Even if you monster suddenly gained a power boost, its still no match for the power my deck possesses. You haven't even been able to put a scratch on my life points, and in fact of that, they have more than doubled since the start of the match!" Thoth thoroughly spoke his words with emphasis, putting forth the 'I'm superior' tone that he was hoping would intimidate Kevin.

"_He may be right, but I can't give up without trying."_ Kevin sighed, holding up his arm slowly so that he was pointing the Thoth's Blessings of the Nile card. "We'll I activate the special effect of my Breaker. By taking the spell counter he has on him off, dropping his attack power by 300, I can destroy one magic or trap on the field. And I choose; Blessings of the Nile!"

Breaker the Magical Warrior whipped its glowing sword around in a large circle, bringing it down so that it sent a stream of blue energy rushing outwards, slashing across the field and cutting the green bordered card into two perfect halves. Shattering, the card vanished from Thoth's field, the real card ejected from Thoth's bar like duel disk. (Breaker the Magical Warrior 1600/1000)

"No matter what, I won't give up. I activate the special power of my Pitch-Black Power Stone! I transfer one of its spell counters to my Breaker!" Kevin announced, snapping his hand out to the black hovering sphere resting on his field. One of the two remaining glowing triangles became dim, a stream of every flushing off the surface of the stone into the knights sword, giving it a light blue glow once again. "Breaker go now! Attack Mirror Sphinx! (1900/1000)"

Charging across the field, the red armored monster snapped its right hand back, wielding the glowing blade back over its head, bringing it forward with such force it whistled through the air. A loud crashing sound echoed in the chamber as the sword smashed into the glass surface of the monster, shattering the beast instantly.

Kevin-2100 LP  
Thoth-8500 LP

"What!" Kevin's head did a double take at his duel disk once it beeped at him. His life point score just plunged drastically, and his opponent hadn't activated any kind of trap card.

"Mirror Sphinx's special power kicks in. When he's attacked while face-up on the field, the attack of the monster that destroys him is taken from your life points. Since you did such a wonderful thing of powering him back up for the attack, you took a total of 1900 points of damage." Thoth smirked, sliding the monster card into his graveyard slot.

"I see." Kevin observed Thoth's statement, analyzing it. He had wanted Kevin to attack the weak monster, in order to deal damage. Such a tempting target it was. "No matter, I'll just end my turn none the less."

"Draw!" Thoth slid the top card from his deck, instantly moving his hand to his graveyard slot at the rear of his duel disk, grabbing the ejected Sinister Serpent. "Set one card from my hand on my field." Thoth placed his drawn card into his duel disk, the image appearing behind his blue skinned monster. "Of course, ending my turn."

"For being so big on talk, you sure haven't made a lot of impressive moves." Kevin taunted, sliding the top card off his deck, then groaning as Thoth's magic card that still rested on his field began to activate. His opponent instantly dumped the one card he was holding in his hand into the graveyard.

Kevin-2100 LP  
Thoth-9000 LP

"I will sacrifice my counter on my Breaker again, this time wiping out your set card!" (1600/1000) The red armored magician snapped its sword down again, slicing through the air and shattering the set card, which Thoth instantly pulled from his duel disk and held up for Kevin to see.

"You are pathetic to fall for that. My set card is known as Bottled Water of the Nile. When this card is destroyed while face-down on my field, I get to draw two cards from my deck." As quick as he had spoken those words, Thoth had placed the purple bordered card into his grave and slid two new cards off of his deck.

"Fine." Kevin pointed to the hovering black stone. "I use the effect of my Pitch-Black Power Stone for the last time, giving one last counter to my Magical Warrior. (1900/1000)" The orb hovering on Kevin's field sent out a blast of light, rushing it across the field and into the silver blade of Kevin's knight. After doing so, the stone began to crack, shattering into a hundred small shards which fell to the gold tiled floor below.

Snapping the glowing sword backwards, the monster aimed it at the last magic card on the field; Seizure of Goods.

"I will remove his final counter (1600/1000) in order to destroy this blasted card you handed me!" With the order given, the monster slashed its sword horizontally through the air, the shock wave of blue light rushing off of it and smashing through the holographic card image.

Pulling the card out of his duel disk, Kevin launched it through the air, with Thoth catching the piece of cardboard like it was a fly. Slapping the card into his graveyard slot instantly.

"Then I make a double sacrifice!" Kevin announced, the two monsters on his field becoming engulfed in purple streams of light, rushing up from the ground. "To re-summon my Dark Magician (2500/2100)." The two monsters shattered in the streams of light, merging the two streams into one large rush of light. From within, the purple robed spell caster jumped out, snapping his green staff-like wand around before landing on the golden tiled floor.

Kevin didn't hesitate even a second from when his monster touched down on the ground. Snapping his arm up, his palm facing forward and his fingers outstretched he took in a deep breath and cried his attack.

"Dark Magician destroy Criosphinx! Dark Magic attack!"

With the order, the green wand found itself snapped up again, aimed at the blue skinned sphinx like monster. From the orb resting in the end of the staff, a blast of black and purple energy rushed out in a massive, wild blast. Piercing right through the monster, causing it to shatter instantly.

"I end my turn." Kevin let his arm come back to his body, a smile crossing his face as he finally cleared the field and put him in a favorable spot. The only card on the field was his Dark Magician, and it was ready to do some major damage to Thoth.

"You pathetic fool." Thoth whispered to himself within his own amusment. Placing his fingers on the top card of his duel disk, he pulled it off and stared at the face of it. His Duel Disk made a small humming sound as his graveyard slot popped up slightly, one of the cards ejecting out. Thoth picked up his Sinister Serpent and placed it into his hand once again. Taking one of the now four cards in his hand, he simply placed it into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down on my field, ending my turn."

Kevin watched in amazement as Thoth's single card appeared on the field before him. Looking down, Kevin already had his plan set up for the turn. He couldn't believe his good fortune!

"Draw!" He yelled, slicing the top card from his deck and placing it into his hand. Placing the card in his hand, he instantly grabbed the next card over in his hand and flipped it up for Thoth to see. "Magic card go! Anti-Magic Arrows. In the turn this card is activated, none of your face-down cards can be activated at all, leaving me free to do this!" Kevin pointed to his monster, which instantly raised his staff again. "Dark Magic Attack, directly at his life points!"

From the holographic card image produced when Kevin slide the Anit-Magic Arrows card into his duel disk, a wave of razor sharp arrows blasted out, racing across the field and creating a boarder around Thoth's set card, pinning it instantly to the floor.

Smirking, Kevin's Dark Magician sent a blast of black and purple energy from the orb in his staff. Racing across the field, the wave of magic circled around Thoth, though it wasn't strong enough to even make him flinch.

Kevin-2100 LP  
Thoth-6500 LP

"I end my turn then." Kevin announced as both his green bordered card, and the arrows pinning down the card on Thoth's field, faded away with the effect expiring. _"Even if it was just for one turn, which gave me my possible only chance I might get to attack him directly. I had to take it."_ Kevin though at he placed the card into his graveyard slot, watching as it was pulled into the darkness beyond.

"Pathetic, but I'll give credit for someone actually attacking me." Thoth spoke as he slid the top card off of his deck. "It takes some real skill to do that, even once. So well, I'll make this the final move of the game, so that you can see that just like the last attack, you aren't strong enough to beat me.

"What!" Kevin watched as Thoth pointed to his Swiss-cheesed bordered card still resting on his field.

"Activate set card; Pyramid of Light!" The set card flipped up, sending out incredible rays of light. A laser shot out from the center of the card image, racing directly up the golden ceiling of the room, creating a point of light that absorbed the tail of the ray. From there, four rays of light blasted out, creating the four corners of Thoth's pyramid.

Kevin watched astounded as the strange trap card continued to work, filling in the 'walls' of the pyramid that now encased both of them with a light blue, gel looking surface.

"From the Pyramid of Light, I can special summon its two guardians with the small cost of 500 per guardian." Thoth held up two of the cards in his hand, slapping them down onto his duel disk as it began to beep to take the toll for the monsters out of his life points.

Kevin-2100 LP   
Thoth-5500 LP

"Rise! Andro Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia!"

In front of Thoth appeared two, large beast like monsters, roaring at the top of their lungs. On the left was a large, brown skinned sphinx looking monster, standing on its two hind legs. Bluish-green armor adorned its limbs, and a lion like main set off its face. The other monster was also Sphinx looking, though this one was resting on all fours. It hair was short, and dark gray in color. Its face was that of a human female's, with flowing, long red hair. The monsters, respectively described to their names being called out, both began to roar again, showing their immense power. (Andro Sphinx 3000/2500)(Sphinx Teleia 2500/3000)

"And one more magic card." Thoth smirked, pulling one of the two remaining card in his hand out and adding it to the dueling bar on his arm. "Mystical Space Typhoon can destroy one magic or trap card on the field. My choice for this card is my Pyramid of Light!"

"Wait?" Kevin's eyes widened as Thoth's green bordered card appeared next to him, sending out a visible twister of pale blue wind. Twisting around in the air, the wind crashed into the face-up trap card that was on Thoth's field, shattering it, the surrounding visual of the card, and the two strange sphinx monsters on Thoth's field as well. "What happened? Why did you…? What happened to your monsters?"

"Pyramid of Light, when destroyed, removes both Andro Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia from my field from game." Thoth smirked, pulling out his deck of cards. Which, in turn, lets me call forth something worse, again, at a cost of only 500 life points."

Kevin-2100 LP   
Thoth-5000 LP

What appeared on Thoth's field was a hideous chimera of his two previous monsters. Andro Sphinx's body jutting out of the gray haired body of the Sphinx Teleia. Smirking, the monster began to roar, two different roars echoing through the chamber. On the back of the Andro Sphinx's head was the head of his Sphinx Teleia, roaring along with its front head. (3500/3000)

"I'd like to introduce you to my Theinen the Great Sphinx." Thoth was a bit too overjoyed with his new monster. "When he's summoned, a special power is awakened, only costing me 500 more mesly life points. By paying that, my monsters attack jumps up by 3000 more for this turn."

Kevin-2100 LP  
Thoth-4500 LP

Theinen began to roar louder, its body being consumed in a blood red aura. Glaring down at the purple robed figure before it, the monster seemed read to take it out at any passing second (6500/3000).

"Attack Dark Magician!" Thoth roared, snapping his arm down. "Win this duel for me!"

With the order, the monster on his field began to charge forward, shaking the entire palace with its incredible weight. Inch by inch, the gap between the two closed. Then…

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

Theinen the Great Sphinx  
3500/3000/10/Beast/Light  
This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by paying 500 Life Points when both "Andro Sphinx" and "Sphinx Teleia" on your side of the field are destroyed at the same time; then you can Special Summon this monster from your hand or Deck. When this card is Special Summoned, by paying 500 Life Points, increase the ATK of this card by 3000 points until the end of the End Phase.

Kevin: "Alright, my turn to do the Card of the Episode. What a card this is! Theinen is a powerful monster, with capabilities to become almost twice as strong for a very small payment of 500 life points. Though it is somewhat harder to summon, requiring both Andro Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia to be destroyed at the same exact time. Fortunate for it, the Pyramid of Light trap card can help with that, but still, not all that easy to assemble all the pieces. A power house indeed…"

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	12. Burning Frozen Heart

Episode 12: Burning Frozen Heart

What appeared on Thoth's field was a hideous chimera of his two previous monsters. Andro Sphinx's body jutting out of the gray haired body of the Sphinx Teleia. Smirking, the monster began to roar, two different roars echoing through the chamber. On the back of the Andro Sphinx's head was the head of his Sphinx Teleia, roaring along with its front head. (3500/3000)

"I'd like to introduce you to my Theinen the Great Sphinx." Thoth was a bit too overjoyed with his new monster. "When he's summoned, a special power is awakened, only costing me 500 more mesly life points. By paying that, my monsters attack jumps up by 3000 more for this turn."

Kevin-2100 LP  
Thoth-4500 LP

Theinen began to roar louder, its body being consumed in a blood red aura. Glaring down at the purple robed figure before it, the monster seemed read to take it out at any passing second (6500/3000).

"Attack Dark Magician!" Thoth roared, snapping his arm down. "Win this duel for me!"

With the order, the monster on his field began to charge forward, shaking the entire palace with its incredible weight. Inch by inch, the gap between the two closed. Then, in one earth shattering blow, the large four legged sphinx monster crashed down on top of the purple robed magician, causing it to explode into a mess of data particles.

Kevin-0 LP  
Thoth-4500 LP

Kevin fell to his knees from the sheer power the shockwave from the attack caused. Thoth stood triumphant, his large monster fading away as the duel ended, leaving nothing but the aftermath of the game in the golden room.

"See, didn't I tell you earlier that you stood no chance at all human?" Thoth questioned, his duel disk seeming to crumple back into a chunk of metal, vanishing into the gauntlet on his wrist. "You never stood a chance against me and by the end of the duel, my life points were 500 points higher than when we actually started the game. That's not to say anything about how much higher they actually went."

"Shut up." Joe snapped from the sidelines, running up to his buddy who was still kneeling on the floor. "You won the game, that's all. Your arrogance has gone far enough. Think you have what it takes to beat someone else?" Joe held up his arm, his duel disk shining from the flickering candles dotting the sides of the room. _"What am I doing? This guy is incredibly strong when it comes to dueling, but…"_ Narrowing his eyebrows, Joe continued on with his look of disgust. _"…at this point, I can't back down."_

"I've wasted enough time as it is." Thoth turned, completely ignoring the challenge from the green haired kid. Walking towards the purple skinned lady that was slightly laughing at the pathetic attempt of the humans to stand up to Thoth, he turned an glared back at the whole group of them, who stared at them with defiance. "Like fresh meat, tossed to a pack of hungry lions. So helpless, so vulnerable."

"So delicious." Dementia threw in, licking her lips with an abnormally long tongue.

* * *

Kooru watched in horror as the two brother demons went flying past him like rag dolls. They crashed into the wall that lay behind him, loud thumps echoing through the dark halls of the castle. 

Sweat was pouring down the face of the gray haired demon, taking in a big gulp as he watched the red skinned monster before him slowly take one step followed by another towards him.

"_He is incredibly strong, that's for sure."_ Kooru took up a fighting stance, waiting for the right moment to strike. _"His power far exceeds mine, Heruru's and Hebanu's, even if all of our powers were put together!"_ Biting his lower lip in disgust, the leader of the small group of demons realized in full the situation he was in. He couldn't win against this monster, he didn't even stand a chance. His power level wasn't going to go any higher, but Freyr's was going to continue naturally. _"Some guardians we turned out to be after all…" _

"Your eyes don't betray ye intentions at all." Freyr stopped, speaking as his large red clawed feet came to rest on the cold tiled floor of the dark hallway. "You still show a look of blood lust, the will to kill me burning deep inside you yet. But I know what's going through your mind, as the rest of your body does lie about your determination.

"You're terrified of my power." Freyr reached out his hand, opening up his fingers so that they were outstretched, palm facing towards the enemy. "And you thus have every right to be." Before Kooru's eyes, Freyr seemed to vanish into a ripple of air. He couldn't even see a trail or a direction that Freyr left moving at such a speed.

"_What the hell…"_ His eyes were now wide with shock, darting left and right for any sign, any clue as to where his opponent was.

"As you see." The gruff voice of the monster he was facing echoed out from behind Kooru. Right behind him! Slowly turning his head, Kooru was in complete fear at how close Freyr had gotten to his body without even being detected by him. "You are just as weak as ever, I'm sorry that in all this time you lay dormant that you couldn't even once reach a level that would entertain me."

With a rush of light, a ball of energy was sent blasting from the center of the red, large, muscular hand that was now placed inches from Kooru's back. Wiping the demon forward, the blast rushed out from all sides of him with streams of light. Everything was moving in slow motion to him, the pain creeping its way over every inch of his body slowly.

Then, everything became a blur, and he saw the wall opposite of where he once stood rushing towards him with incredible force. He couldn't even bring his arms up to protect himself as his body crashed limply into the wall. The sound of the explosion echoed down the corridors, as smoke came flooding off the new indent in the wall.

"Such a shame really." Freyr looked over his shoulders with a smart ass look on his demonic face. Against the wall behind him Heruru and Hebanu lay limp, completely unconscious from earlier attacks against him. "I was hoping to kill more time, and have a bit of fun before this all has to come to an end. But oh well, the time for fun and games are over." Turning once again, facing the darkness of the hallway before him, the monster began to idly walk down the corridor once again. "I must put an end to all of this, there is no way I'd ever allow these humans and their demon pets to have power such as this."

* * *

Ronin had emerged from the ally way, now sitting on a piece of stone that was carved into the side of the building for a window. The ledge was nice and thick, and the glass was dark from the lack of life inside the building. The shape of the cut out was that of a square, though where the top right corner would be it appeared that it had been cut off, replaced by cold stone, leaving this as a five sided figure. 

A distant, far look was in his eyes. He was looking down at cards that lay fanned out in his hands. Deep thought was racing through his mind, as he reached out and moved one of the cards from the fanned open pile. Placing it on his lap, he nodded with the change.

"I won't have weak cards in this deck any more. These cards are going to be as strong as me; we are going to be the strongest." Looking up, Ronin stared off into the night sky. Above the city, a massive array of stars dotted the darkness and a small, crescent shaped moon rested in its natural home, shining with brilliant light offered to it by its brethren; the sun.

Then, without warning, a car door slammed shut from behind Ronin's back. Twisting like a wild animal, faced with a sudden predator, Ronin took in what was coming at him. It was only the same silver haired friend that he had known since back in his school days; Ryokurio.

"What the hell do you want?" Ronin hissed, jumping out of the groove and glaring at his new company. "Why have you come out here, and why have you found me?"

"_Is he jumpy or what?"_ Ryokurio noticed, watching Ronin slowly back up. "Ronin, I came 'cause I saw you run past my sisters house not to long ago, and I've come looking for you. It seems like your having a problem, care to share?"

"There is nothing to share; I've got my problems under control now." Holding up his hand, his deck of cards rested tightly between his fingers. "I have all the power I need now to never be shown up by you, by Akina, by any other duelist ever again! Especially…" His left hand turned into an instant tight-balled fist as he spoke. "Reku."

"You've built your deck to beat everyone?" Ryokurio asked, cocking an eyebrow at Ronin's last statement. _"That seems logical for a duelist to want to do, but why do I get the feeling there is something more to it? Ronin seems not like a duelist wanting to show his strength, but like a lunatic wanting to have complete dominance."_ Stepping forward a step, the silver haired man looked at Ronin who instantly jerked back. "Ronin, I think you need to calm down, here, come with me back to my sisters house and well get you some rest."

"No!" Ronin snapped, jumping back a significant distance from where he was standing when the offer came up. "I don't need anyone's help! I will make it on my own, with my own strength an will power. I don't need your…sympathy and 'help'." Ronin's voice dipped down, mocking the word help as he spoke. Holding up his left arm, the green duel disk that rested there began to hum, snapping up both of its arms to make the dueling plate, then having them come back down to the side of the device. "And if you continue to stand in my way, I'll have no choice but to prove my power over you."

"_He wants to duel? At a time like this?"_ Ryokurio looked on a bit awestruck at the sudden challenge from the obviously unstable Ronin. _"What the hell has gotten into him?"_

"I can't wait to try out this new deck of mine anyways." Taking the cards he held in his hand, he slid them into the deck slot on his duel disk, the cards being accepted and his life point counter beeping up to 4000. "Now its time to make sure that I am indeed superior to everyone and everything!"

"Ronin, you've lost it!" Ryokurio was power walking backwards; stopping only once he reached his pickup. Opening the door, he reached in and pulled out a Kaiba crop. standard duel disk, with his deck of cards already resting in the deck slot. Opening the wrist bindings, he slipped it onto his arm and locked it tight. Humming, the device instantly came to life, snapping out its own arms and sliding them down to making the dueling tray. "So once I beat you here, you have to come with me without any struggle, got it?"

"You can't." Ronin lowered his head, glaring at his new opponent from the tops of his eyes balls. "You don't have the power to stand up to me now; you don't have even a shred of the motivation I have to win this. There is no way that you will win, can win, or even hope to win!" Placing his right hand on the stack of cards in his duel disk, he began to pull them so that they were resting a bit over the edge of the rest of the deck. "And I will prove not only to you what kind of power I have, but I will prove to myself that I am indeed powerful with these new cards. That I can rush into a battle with Reku, and utterly crush him."

"This seems to be completely about Reku." Ryokurio observed, slowly lifting his own hand to his deck of cards. "What happened between the two of you that you are now so hell bent on beating him?"

"None of your business, now, it's time to duel!"

Ronin-4000 LP   
Ryokuiro-4000 LP

"And I'll be starting first." Ronin cried out, finally pulling the cards off of his deck and fanning them out in his right hand. Sliding the cards over to his left hand, he pulled one of the cards out instantly and slapped it down on his duel disk, the device reacting instantly to the new card being placed on it. "I summon Ice Covered Wall (100/2600) in defense mode!"

Before Ronin a large, glass like wall began to rise. The massive barrier was made out of solid, pure ice, sending off a frosty like atmosphere with its appetence. It towered over the heads of both of the duelists, and seemed to cover the whole length of the sidewalk they were dueling on.

"I end my turn." Ronin cried from behind the structure of ice.

"Then it's my turn. Draw!" Ryokurio yelled, snapping the sixth card from his deck and adding it to his hand. Looking up, he narrowed his eyes at the large monster Ronin had played. _"If my memory serves me right, Ice Covered Wall loses 600 defense points every time it's attacked. Meaning the only way to get around it in attack is to weaken it first."_ Pulling two of the cards in his hand out, Ryokurio smirked at his plan. "I will start by summoning Phantom Dragon Baby (1200/1300) in face-up attack mode!"

Before Ryokurio appeared a small, plump little draconic monster. It appeared like a ghost, transparent and ghastly white. Smirking, the small monster seemed cute with its large, cartoon like eyes and the baby like face.

"And I shall use this magic card; Phantom Dragon's Silver Soul!" Ryokurio slide the magic card into the duel disk behind his first monster, causing the disk to light up once again, reading the data from the card. On the field before him, the baby dragon began to shimmer, taking on a metallic silver color (1900/1300). "This equipment card gives 700 additional attack points to my monster, but now he no longer has the power to survive from attacks launched at him."

"_Right, the Phantom Dragon's all have the power to survive for one turn after they are summoned, making all damage to them and the player 0 if they are attacked."_ Ronin remembered, narrowing his eyes, which now had a fuzzy gloss over them it appeared. _"And his magic card makes them vulnerable to my attack."_

"Phantom Dragon Baby, attack his Ice Covered Wall!" Ryokurio didn't hesitate a bit in calling his opening attack, snapping his arm down so to emphasize his point. "Phantom Embers!"

Sucking in a huge breath of air, the tiny dragon monster sent out a stream of pure white embers, racing across the field, and smashing into the ice covered surface of the wall monster it was attacking. From the impact points, small cracks began to spider web out across the face of the monster. (100/2000)

Ronin-4000 LP   
Ryokuiro-3300 LP

"I end my turn there." Ryokurio called unphazed by the drop in his own life points. He was more pleased with the weakening of the monster that would have been a major problem to him otherwise. _"I have to get past that thing, or I'll never get to his life points. And with a 1900 attack point monster on my field, he'll have to counter with something incredibly strong, or be forced on the instant defense."_

"It's my turn then." Ronin spoke calmly, drawing the top card off his deck and twisting his wrist around so he could see what it was he had drawn. "I see that you found out the weakness in my defensive monster. But even though you did, it won't be enough to help you win this game. I summon a monster known as Frosty Cyclops (1200/1000) in defense mode on my field."

Before Ronin, and in front of his cracked ice wall, appeared a crouching, bluish-green skinned Cyclops monster. Icecicles hung off of its limbs, as well as patches of crystallized ice adorning parts of its body. A faded brown loin cloth was the only piece of clothing the monster had upon its body, and even that had a good amount of ice adorning it.

"I cover one of my other cards face-down, and end my turn there." Ronin called out, placing one of the cards from his hand into his duel disk, the image of the card appearing on the field before him in a ripple of light. Looking down at it for a second, Ronin grinned before looking up at his opponent from across the ice wall. "Ryokurio, you best bet would to be surrender and just leave me alone. You've already damaged yourself attempting to hit me, so why keep trying?"

"Cause I can win this, and so far you don't seem to be very powerful." Ryokurio insulted his opponent, trying to draw out some anger in him. If he could do that, than Ronin might make some mistakes and give him the upper hand. He quickly drew his next card and added it to his duel disk the instant he saw the face of it. "I set one card face-down on my field." Like Ronin's, the set card appeared before Ryokurio with a ripple of light. "And I summon Phantom Dragon Twin Head (1500/1000) in attack mode!"

Another ghastly white reptilian monster appeared on the field before Ryokurio, this one was different in shape and size though. Its body was round, with a ragged tail like appendage handing down from the bottom of it. On top of the monster sprouted two long necks, with ferocious looking dragon heads at each end of the neck. From behind the orb like body, two huge, scaled wings projected outwards, flapping at intervals to keep the monster airborne.

"Attack my Phantom Dragon Baby! Take another chunk out of his large ice wall!" Ryokurio ordered, shifting all his attention on his silver coloured monster now, who instantly obeyed the command, sending a slew of white flames out of its mouth and into the surface of the ice wall. More cracks instantly shot out from the impact points, causing the whole wall to be covered in an arrangement of breaks. (1000/1400)

Ronin-4000 LP  
Ryokurio-3200 LP

"Phantom Dragon Twin Head attack now! Wipe that defensive thing off of the field and out of my sight!" Ryokurio called next, giving his newly summoned monster his chance to get into the fight. Snapping both of its heads back, then forward, the twin headed monster shot streams of white flames from their mouths. Swirling together in mid air, the blasts creating a spiraling flame that crashed into the wall, causing it to shatter instantly from the impact. Chunks of ice fell around Ronin, smashing against the ground, shattering the shards further.

Ronin stood there, chin held high as the wall he erected his first turn came shattering to pieces all around him. From the shattering pieces of ice, a cold, light blue mist began to wave from his side of the field, giving him a very chilled look that sent shivers down Ryokurio's spine.

"_I see now, his cards, his deck, its reflecting the coldness he feels inside. His cold heart."_ Shivering uncontrollably for a second, the strong willed man actually felt completely weak and vulnerable standing before his opponent. _"His deck may not have shown much strength yet, but if it's feeding off the coldness of his heart, I'm not sure if I can win this anymore."_ Looking up, it was obvious that he had grown a bit cold and scared, making Ronin smirk in joy at his accomplishments. "I end my turn."

"Then prepare to continue your downward spiral into defeat! Draw!" Once the card was slipped from the top of his deck to his hand, Ronin began to chuckle, drawn from deep inside his chest to accompany the dark bliss he was feeling from his deck of cards. "For my monster this turn, I am calling forth Snow Serpent (2000/500) in attack mode!"

Around Ronin, from the artic mist emerged a large, ice like snake. Twisting and winding its way around Ronin's body, the monstrous snake finally showed its true size and weight, towering above its master with the greatest of ease. Its serpent like head hissed, producing two, forked tongues slithering out between its artic lips. Its eyes were glowing a dark, deep blue, sending off a cool artic fog of their own.

"Snow…Serpent…" Ryokurio took a step backwards, staring at the massive monster that was winding its way around Ronin's body. _"I've never heard of such a card before. Though I don't know every card, I've never even seen one like this before. Its power is incredible, not just its attack stats, but just the aura that is coming off of this beast. I was right…"_ Ryokurio's body was starting to grow goose bumps with how cold it was growing from the appearance of the new monster. _"…that thing is feeding off of the coldness inside of Ronin himself!"_

"Magic card activate." Ronin's voice had become cold, flipping one of the cards from his hand out and into the emerald green duel disk that still rested on his arm. "White Blizzard activate! With this continuous card in play, every time you monster is destroyed in battle, you are going to be losing an additional 600 life points. And that's not all," Ronin snapping his arm up, the green bordered card appearing before him as he did. His index finger outstretched, Ronin pointed up towards his new monster. "Snow Serpent has the special power to prevent the use of magic or trap cards during the battle phase. Meaning you can't stop my attack with your little face-down card."

"Invulnerable huh?" Ryokurio tilted his head forward some, watching as the massive monster was preparing to strike. _"At least the only thing he can touch is my Phantom Dragon Baby, seeing as I just summoned Twin Head and its still under protection from its own effect. However…"_ Closing his eyes, Ryokurio braced for impact. _"…that doesn't mean I'm getting away unscratched…"_

"Snow Serpent attack! Destroy his baby monster now!" Ronin cried out, his snake snapping around like a whip before latching its powerful jaw around the small monster. Huge, pearly white fangs dug deep into the transparent body of the dragon, the see through silver shell cracking and shattering with the bite.

Ronin-4000 LP  
Ryokurio-3100 LP

Shattering, the monster vanished into small data bits, floating harmlessly around the field. Ronin smirked as his monster recoiled back to his field, hissing with its dual tongues protruding its mouth. "Oh no, your punishment isn't over yet. White Blizzard activate! Take out your furry on this weakling!"

Ryokurio had no time to react to the sudden gale of wind blasting out from the face-up card on Ronin's field. Globs of snow and ice danced around him in a tempest of swirling wind. The artic, sub zero temperature from the solid vision produced by the duel disk made Ryokurio shake, freezing him to the bone. It didn't take long for his legs to give out and for him to fall hard to his knees.

Ronin-4000 LP  
Ryokurio-2500 LP

"Thus ends my turn." Ronin slid his arms down to his side, his massive snake monster hissing loudly behind him. Before Ronin also sat the crouching Cyclops who hadn't been seeing any action what so ever, but whose role was highly important. _"As long as a face-up defense position monster remains on my field, my Serpent won't die. It's draw back comes in the form of killing itself during my standby phase if there is no face-up defense position monsters."_

"Ronin." Ryokurio spoke bravely as he pushed himself up off his knees. The artic air rushing around him still made his body shiver, but he couldn't mind that at a time like this. He had to keep pushing on. "I've faced some big, nasty monsters before, and some powerful duelists. I am not going to be surrendering to you now, or be bowing down to your monster once again. I draw!" Snapping the top card off his deck, Ryokurio snapped his legs apart, his arms twisting around his body. The mist followed his path, creating quite a gallant image.

With a quick jerk of his wrist, he slapped the card he drew down onto his duel disk. The device lit up once again, a rushing sound of every accompanied the flowing rainbow of lights.

"I sacrifice my Phantom Dragon Twin Head in order to summon Phantom Dragon Drake! (2500/1500)" Fading into a spew of light, the twin headed monster seemed to have transformed; now becoming a larger, serpent like dragon hovering inches above the cement ground. Two, large wings flapped in unison to keep the monster afloat. It, like all Phantom Dragons, was transparent, pale white, with a ferocious looking dragon head snarling at the opponent. It had no other limbs, just a long, scaled tail snapping back and forth. "Attack his serpent my dragon! Phantom Gale Flame!"

Opening its maw, the massive new dragon sent out a blast of solid white energy like its brethren before it had. The intense white flame raced across the field at an incredible speed, cutting through the artic atmosphere with ease.

Ronin closed his eyes, a smirk dawning his face. "Such a powerful move, but…" Snapping his eyes open, his head jerked back with an incredible force. "It isn't going to be strong enough to even damage me! You fool, you're power as a duelist is far below mine, and here is the proof. Trap card open! Ice Age Extinction!"

"What!" Ryokurio looked on in horror as Ronin's set card began to spurt out waves of artic fog on its own. Rising up, the trap card sent out a blast of energy the quickly raced to intercept the attack. Crashing into it, the energy instantly froze the white flame in mid-air, racing down the stream and onto the monster itself. Within milliseconds, Ryokurio's powerful monster was reduced to nothing more than a large ice sculpture.

"My trap card destroys any level five or higher monster that attacks, making its power extinct. But in the flow of life, after something became extinct, live starts anew. So you now get to special summon one, level four or lower monster from your deck to the field." Ronin pulled the trap card from his dueling tray, placing it on the belt that drug it instantly into his graveyard slot. Looking up, he watched as the ice incased dragon on his opponent's field shattered into a billion tiny shards, crashing into the ground below. "Well, come on, I don't have all night, feel free to summon anything you want from your deck."

"Right." Ryokurio nodded, a bit dumbfounded that his monster was so easily taken down by one simple trap card. Pulling out his deck, he fanned it open with his right and began to look over the card faces and names. _"What could I possibly do now?"_ With a second of thought, he pulled on of the cards form his deck and slapped it down on his duel disk. "I summon Phantom Dragon Defender (300/1800) in defense mode then, and call it a turn."

"It's so apparent that you feel my power, yet you continue to try and fight back. It's quite pathetic." Ronin slid the top card off of his deck, holding it between his index and middle finger. "This is exactly how I want it to be, I want Reku to be in the same spot you are in. Cowering from my power, afraid of me. Admit it, admit my strength you fool." Snapping his arm out, he pointed with the card angled downwards, but the back still to Ryokurio. "Serpent attack! Destroy his monster!"

Snapping like a whip yet again, the large, white, reptilian monster reached across the field, bearing its teeth once again into the body of the ghastly dragon. Seconds later, the monster shattered from the intense pressure, and Ronin's monster slid back to its spot towering above its master.

As soon as the snake was out of the way, a massive blizzard once again raced from the card image of Ronin's White Blizzard magic card, encircling completely around Ryokurio. Though he held true to his words, despite the biting cold, and complete force of the magic card, Ryokurio remained standing, his arms crossed across his chest and his head burrowed behind them.

Ronin-4000 LP  
Ryokurio-1900 LP

"_I can't give in."_ Looking up from between his crossed arms, Ryokurio watched as the blizzard died down, leaving the calm mist to settle into the area once again. _"I won't give up. Ronin has gone off the deep end and I must help him."_ Closing his eyes, Ryokurio took a few deep breaths, trying to stabilize himself. _"I have never failed this badly against any one of them before. Reku, Akina, and even you Ronin. When we would play for fun, just to pass the time, none of you three could hold me down this much. Right now, I can't even lay a single scratch on your life points, nor get an ounce of field control."_ His green eyes opening once again, glaring at his brown haired opponent, trying to figure out what was really going on in this game. _"Does the difference in power come from your unbreakable will Ronin? Or does it come from the fact that you have more to prove to yourself, more riding on the outcome of this game than I do?"_

"You're losing the gusto behind your words Ryokurio." Ronin spoke with such amusement in his voice; it instantly pissed the silver haired man off. Clenching his fist, he glared at Ronin with such hatred for his words; he forgot any other meaning of this game but to beat him. Teeth clenched, his mouth slightly parted, Ryokurio was gaining pure anger towards his opponent now. "And your weakness is showing. Though you've proven one point in particular I am quite happy about. You've shown me that the gap between our powers as duelists has widened to a ten fold margin. You truly aren't duelist enough to even lay a scratch on me. But I'll give you another chance, take your turn, or pass it back to me."

"Arrogant bastard, what the hell are you thinking!" Ryokurio snapped, waving his arm through the air. "Is this really because you feel weak? 'Cause you think that everyone else has surpassed you on such a grand scale? Where is it that you got those cards from? They are all quite rare, that I am sure of. You never had any cards like that, nor any that were driven this much." Snapping an accusing finger out, he took a stand with his words. "The only card that ever fed off of your energy like this was the one card you put so much faith in yourself. Your Daedalus! And that is just your courage, your own will power and trust in that card. These cards however, feed off of something else inside of you. The cold and darkness that has surrounded your heart. You don't need them! Let them go, let me help you Ronin."

"Your pleading is getting you no where you fool. What do you know anyways?"

"I know quite a lot, I was once too consumed by the driving force for power. That damn Orichalcos card that fed off the darkness inside of me. Cause I kept it bottled in for so long, that no one, not even I knew it had grown so great." Ryokurio's eyes had dropped to the cement below, a wave of compassion rushing through the iris. "I believe that the same thing has happened to you, your hungry for power, you feel you need power to be strong. You feel that you've fallen to weak, and that you need to prove your strength or stay forever in someone else's shadow."

"Well, you're not as stupid as you look then. You at least could put together something semi intelligent to preach about." Ronin tilted his head back, a proud look of superiority plastered upon his face. "And your right, I'm not going to ever be in anyone's shadow ever again!"

"Even so…I'm not giving up on you until the final life point is gone. DRAW!" Ryokurio snapped the card from his deck, glancing over all of his options. With a few disgruntled groans from deep in his throat, he slapped down one of the cards in his hand. "I summon Phantom Dragon Shatter (800/500) in defense mode." With that, the monster appeared before him on the field, forming a shattered, pale yellow egg with a baby, transparent dragon sticking its head out from inside its natural cradle. "I then end my turn."

"I then continue mine." Ronin smirked, sliding the next card from his own deck, placing it into his hand of cards. "It is about time I showed you what strength I have. I will make a double sacrifice, giving up my Snow Serpent and my Frosty Cyclops in order to summon this monster."

In a double pillar of light, the two monsters vanished, shattering their own data, combining together to form the newest beast to arrive on Ronin's field. This new monster took the form of a large dragon made entirely out of ice. Its two hind legs where short, and twisted up behind its body, while its for legs were outstretched, the ice like wings fanning back from them. It needle-nose face pulled open as it let out a huge roar with its appearance.

"I present to you, Ryokurio, the newest powerhouse to my deck of cards. Fear that which is known only as; Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon (3000/2500)."

"Blue-Ice…White Nights…Dragon?" Ryokurio took in the sight of the new hovering dragon monster, sending off its own wave of artic mist just with its arrival alone. "I've never even heard of a card like that in my entire dueling career. Where did you get such a powerful thing?"

"You don't even know what this thing can do yet, and you already can tell its ungodly powerful." Clapping his hands very slowly, Ronin tilted his head to the side, giving a snot-faced grin. "You are at least smart enough to know to be afraid of it. Its power is, like you've been saying, coming from deep within myself. It cannot be stopped, but let me tell you its powers anyways, so you don't end up making a fool of yourself. It's completely invulnerable to magic and trap cards that target it. And well, he can draw any attack towards him if I sacrifice any magic or trap card on my field. Making this card completely unstoppable."

"It…still can't attack my Shatter this turn." Ryokurio pointed out, waving his arm slightly to emphasize his point. His little, egg bearing monster couched down behind the wall of its pale yellow shell to hid itself form the massive ice carved dragon. Whimpering sounds could be heard echoing from the curved walls of the egg.

"True, but nothing can save it next turn. I end here then, setting these two cards face-down on my field." Two ripples of yellow and white light appeared just in front of Ronin, the brown backed cards appearing finally, only to be swallowed in the artic white mist.

"Draw!" Ryokurio yelled, ignoring all the other comments he wished to say about Ronin at this point.

What started out as a simple rescue mission turned into what seemed to him; a battle to the death. He had completely lost sight of his surroundings, of where he was, and why he was there. The dark street, the sidewalk where they once stood, all vanished to him, he was now fighting Ronin on a different level, in a different realm, though this realm was in complete accordance to Ronin's power, and there was going to be no way back alive.

"I set one card face down on my field." He announced, sliding the card into his duel disk next to his first set card that, up until the Snow Serpent was gone from the field, was completely useless. The card appeared before him in a rush of energy. "And I move forward in the attack, sacrificing my Phantom Dragon Shatter in order to call out, Phantom Dragon Rare Breed! (1000/1000)"

A strange, small, oval shelled monster appeared on the field before Ryokurio. From the middle of the oval shaped shell projected a long, twisting head that had a snarling dragons head at the end of it. From the back of the oval shell jutted three, long, wagging tails. And a pair of long wings jutted from its back, glimmering in the cold mist. Like all Phantom Dragons, this one to was transparent, and white in colour.

"My Rare Breed is, well, just that; rare. Unlike other Phantom Dragon's, he comes with a powered up ability. For three turns after he is summoned, he cannot be destroyed in battled, dropping all damage to him, and me, to zero." Ryokurio explained, a war like tone dripping off of his words. "Though I'm going to sacrifice that, just to give myself a fighting change against you."

"Oh?"

"Magic card go! Phantom Dragon Rareness!" Ryokurio slid one of the remaining two cards from his hand into his duel disk "This card equips to a Phantom Dragon that is five stars or more, giving it a shocking 2000 extra attack points (3000/1000)."

The newly summoned monster began to hiss, growing incredibly strong with the new power added to it. A powerful, dark blue aura began to course its way around the monster, driving out a blood curdling roar from deep with its long throat.

Sliding the last card in his hand into his graveyard slot, Ryokurio looked up at Ronin. "Phantom Dragon Rareness requires that I discard one card from my hand for my monster to be able to attack. Phantom Dragon Rare Breed go now! Wipe out his monster!" Ryokurio whipped his arm forward, launching his young dragon towards Ronin at incredible speed.

"Idiot." Ronin smirked, drawing up his arm. "You really think that you can face me with something like that?" His fingers curled into a fist, his thumb sticking up and pointing at his chest. "I am not one who can be beaten by something as foolish as this. I am immortal now you see, and the power difference between you and I is just now starting to be exposed. I will no jeopardize my experiment on something this trivial!"

"What!" Ryokurio's eyes widened, as he watched what unfolded before him next.

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon  
Dark/Dragon/8/3000/2500  
Negate and destroy the effects of your opponent's Magic and Trap cards that designate this card as a target. By destroying 1 Magic or Trap card on your side of the field and sending it to the Cemetery, you can change the attack target of an opponent's monster to this card.

Ronin: "What power, what incredible power flows through this one singular card. It alone is powerful enough to rival the legendary Blue Eyes White Dragon, and far surpass it alone. It is also driven by my inner force, just like that fool kept saying. This card is truly filled with my power, my rage, and my hate. And nothing can stop it!"

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	13. Memories Frozen in the Past

Episode 13: Memories Frozen in the Past

"Idiot." Ronin smirked, drawing up his arm. "You really think that you can face me with something like that?" His fingers curled into a fist, his thumb sticking up and pointing at his chest. "I am not one who can be beaten by something as foolish as this. I am immortal now you see, and the power difference between you and I is just now starting to be exposed. I will no jeopardize my experiment on something this trivial!"

"What!" Ryokurio's eyes widened, as he watched what unfolded before him next.

The newly summoned monster; Phantom Dragon Rare Breed, boosted to a startling 3000 attack points instantly, was racing towards the equally powerful monster on Ronin's field; Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon. Though it didn't hit Ryokurio until now that there was something amiss, his attack would fail. He knew it now.

"Reveal set card." Ronin whipped his hand down, pointing to one of his two set cards that rested on his field. "Mystical Space Typhoon, drain him of his equipment magic card!"

The set card flipped up, showing a massive vortex of swirling blue wind. Within moments of it locking into an upright position, the card sent out a tornado of air, racing across the field instantly and smashing into the face up magic card; Phantom Dragon's Rareness, causing the card to shatter instantly.

In mid flight, the small shelled monster realized that its power was draining, the aura that surrounded its body vanishing in a wisp of smoke trailing off its body (1000/1000). Its normally ferocious face turned to an unnatural fear as it plummeted against its will at the large, ice carved dragon.

"_Damn, none of the Phantom Dragon's actually get their immortality on the turn they are summoned, so if I charge into the attack on that turn, they are vulnerable to being destroyed, as well as my life points being in danger." _Ryokurio looked down at his duel disk, the glowing white letters reading 1900. "Alright, open face-down card!" Ryokurio tapped the button on his duel disk, the set card that had been resting dormant on his field for what seemed like ages finally became active. "Waboku go! By the effect of this card, I take no battle damage, and my monster also takes no damage as well."

"Lucky move." Ronin narrowed his eyes, a small grin peeling across his face.

The shelled monster crashed into the ice dragon, bouncing off unharmed. Once on the ground, the monster scuttled back to its masters field, turning around and preparing itself for the opponents turn.

"You like to hang on as long as you can, though you do realize that you can't win this game, right?" Ronin motioned to his monster that rested before him. With a flap of its icecicles like wings, the monster was airborne once again, hovering over Ronin's head. "My Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon is going to be the finishing move of this game; his power is far too much for you. Maybe I shouldn't have brought him out against someone such as you."

"Shut up." Ryokurio snapped, swinging his arm out. "You haven't won this yet, and might I remind you the special effect of my Phantom Dragon Rare Breed. He can't be attacked and destroyed for three turns after his summoning, starting on your turn. And all damage to me in that time is also canceled out. You'll have to find another way to get around my monster to win. But I doubt you could, it's your move, are you going to take it?"

"Anxious to rush into death, aren't we?" Ronin slid the top card off his deck, adding it to his hand as well. "It's not surprising, the weakest, most annoying people, are the ones who want to run their mouths and head straight into defeat."

"It's you that is surprising here." Ryokurio spoke calmly, taking ample time to produce each word from his mouth. "You have changed. You never used to be this hell bent for power. You never used to put yourself on such a high pedestal about every one else. You never tried to out do anyone by going to these extremes. And further more, you were a kind spirit to everyone. Putting others before yourself, and never showing anyone your pain. That is why you suffer so much now, let it out, and let me help you."

"You really aren't going to shut up, are you?" Ronin pointed to his other set card that was still resting on his field. "Well, I grow tired of your voice, so I will open my set card now. Forced Energy Backlash, a trap with devastating powers."

"Oh no!" Ryokurio recognized this card, one that had a devastating power. Though it did increase the attack and defense of one of his monsters, it was going to drain that monster of all of its special abilities. There was going to be nothing he could do now to stop the attack that was going to be coming at him.

"I see that you understand what my trap card does. Equipping to your monster, its going to give you 800 additional points on both the offensive, and defensive (1800/1800). Sadly though, since your monster is now drained of its full potential, it's become as weak and as vulnerable as you are. Fire now, Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon!"

Opening its maw, the large dragon that was hovering above Ronin began to suck in some of the artic mist that was floating around in the eerie darkness of the dueling background. A huge, swirling mass of white vapor condensed itself right between its fierce rows of razor sharp, ice carved teeth. With a wave of energy, the massive blast ripped from the mouth of the monster, sending the massive comet straight into the body of the monster, causing its instant death.

Ronin-4000 LP  
Ryokurio-700 LP

"And don't forget, I have the devastating power of my White Blizzard still in effect." Ronin pointed to his last face-up magic card he had on his field. Within moments, a huge gale of wind, snow and ice ripped from the card image, swirling around his opponent with massive force and pressure.

Ryokurio couldn't help but to fall to his knees this time, clutching his body, he waited in a never ending time frame for the massive blizzard to subside. Clutching his body, he tried to think warm thoughts, to get his mind off of the situation he was in now.

Ronin-4000 LP  
Ryokurio-100 LP

"Idiot." Ronin smirked, drawing back his massive storm into the card that rested on his field. "I thought you weren't going to be bowing to me or my monsters again. Seems my overwhelming power as a duelist pushed you down to your knees yet again. Thus giving you a blatant hint; that is where you belong!" Snapping his arm out to the side, Ronin tilted his head back, his frosted over eyes and cold smirk gave him a look of being completely drunk off of his own power. "I was kind enough to spare you 100 measly life points, make them count in this turn. I don't even think I need to tell you what will happen if you make a half ass move."

Ryokurio was fighting to get warmth back into his limbs, pushing with all of his might to stand back up on two legs. Wobbling a bit, he finally managed to make it so he was standing upright.

"Increase your energy, shove it into your last card, and make your destiny right here." Ronin continued to prod, trying to pull some sore of fight out of his opponent. "At least make an attempt to close the gap between our power levels. You're putting me to sleep with this pathetic game you're playing."

"_One card."_ Ryokurio glared at his opponent. _"I have only one card in play, my face-down trap card. I only get to draw one card this turn. I only have one card to play with."_ Placing his hand on his deck, he felt a mixture of fear, determination, courage, and loss of hope. He had to top deck something, anything, and hope that it would be enough to hold back his opponent. _"Ronin, you are on a different level than I am now. Does this really make you happy? Will this really bring you joy?"_

Slowly, the card that rested on the top of his deck was inched off. Snapping it through the air, Ryokurio felt a bit of distress at what it could be. The fate of this duel rested in the card that he pulled. What could it be? Would it save him? Was he really enough of a true duelist to increase his energy to face down his incredibly powerful opponent?

"I summon the monster I drew; Phantom Dragon Defender (300/1800), in face-up defense mode!" He yelled, slapping the second card in his deck to go by that name down. The large winged, ghastly dragon appeared on his field, crouching down behind its folded up wings. "Ending my turn."

"Then feel the rage of my monster." Ronin snapped the top card from his deck, continuing the motion; he thrust his arm forward so he was pointing to the defending monster. "Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon attack! Wipe out his last defender!"

Order given, the massive floating ice dragon began to suck in the swirling white vapor around the field, creating its massive ball of mist like flames between its jaws. Howling from deep within its throat, the massive ice dragon sent out the ball of energy, trailed by the vapor seeping off from the incredible speed.

"Trap card open!" Ryokurio bellowed, snapping his hand down to his last card on the field. "Trap card; Phantom Wings. Equipping itself to a Phantom Dragon on my field with 1000 or less attack power, I permanently make that monster invincible!" Ryokurio's voice had become incredibly strained as he spoke, his last efforts and last chance riding on this combo.

The wings that wrapped around the body of the dragon creating its shield began to glow, growing steadily bigger in size. Becoming beautiful, large white wings, wrapping themselves further around the body of the small dragon. The attack hit the outside of the shield, trying its best to break through, but to no avail, faded and dissolved into the foggy night.

"You've saved yourself this time." Ronin smirked, looking over the cards in his hand. "It seems like you got incredibly lucky, as your power as a duelist still remains as weak as you are." Nothing that he could do this time to wipe out his opponent, he just looked back up, grinning like a mad man possessed by an evil demon. "I end my turn."

Ryokurio looked down, pulling the top card off of his deck and glaring at its face. Adding it to his left hand, he looked up and nodded at Ronin. "I end my turn not doing a single thing."

"It looks more like you can't do anything, not that you choose to not do anything." Pulling the top card form his deck, he placed it into his hand, pulling out another one of the card he held and held it up, flipping it over so Ryokurio could see its face. "It looks like your time is up."

Ryokurio's eyes widened at the sight of the card that his opponent was now holding. _"No way! He was holding that card in his hand? How long? Why didn't he play it before now?"_

"Activate the card that will win this for me instantly." Taking the card a few seconds to get from its spot in the middle of the air to the slot in the duel disk where it was instantly pulled in, sending rays of sapphire blue light racing through the duel disk. "Activate Oracles Rage Seal Incarnate of Power – Sapphire Crystal!"

Cracks of deep, sapphire colored lightning blasted off of Ronin's duel disk, snapping against the ground and vanishing into the night. The force was so incredible that there was no controlling the direction or speed of the lightning bolts. Whipping past a terrified Ryokurio, the bolts vanished into the darkness behind him, cutting a thin, shallow gash on his left cheek.

The large, ice dragon began to roar, surging with a sapphire blue aura. It's body suddenly turned into a large, glowing, sapphire tinted ice cube, absorbing the power of the aura that flowed around its body. Form the face of the ice on the body, large, pointed pillars of sapphire blue ice jutted outwards. More and more popped out of the 'skin' of the dragon, creating a random, nonsymmetrical pattern of crystals lining the flying monster, sending their energy flowing through the beast. (4000/2500)

Ronin roared on his own, drunk with his own superior force. On his forehead, a sapphire circle appeared with a series of lines drawn to the left hand side of the circle. This pattern looked to be like a crescent moon shape. From the symbol, a set of sapphire colored lighting bolts blasted out, tracing their way down Ronin's body. Once they reached his feet, they exploded into a wave of up rushing, blue energy that raced over the outside of Ronin's body.

"Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon Sapphire Mode!" Ronin yelled, snapping his arm upwards, sending a wave of his sapphire blue aura racing up into his floating sapphire colored ice monster. "My card boosts up his attack by 1000 points, drawing out his true power. He now is a pure essence monster, incapable of being destroyed in battle at all!" Ronin snapped his arm down, sending his dragon racing across the field with increadable speed. Opening its jaw, the monster sent out a blast of deep sapphire and white colored flames that instantly engulfed the defending monster.

"That's not all it does!" Ryokurio was backing up with a slow, terrified pace. His arms were up, shielding him from the flames as they threatened to burn him alive.

"Your right, it also gives me the ability to trample over your monster, dealing the difference in attack and defense to your life points." Ronin smirked, pleased that Ryokurio realized how he had lost this game. "You are finished, completely wiped out by my incredible force."

Turning, Ronin walked away into the darkness of the night behind him. The artic mist that had flowed out of his cold cards surrounded his body, concealing it at he vanished completely into the night.

Ryokurio tried to keep his eyes on his opponent, but it was useless, his body had given all of its strength already. His iron weight eye lids slammed shut, his rag doll like body crashing to the cement of the sidewalk below.

Ronin-4000 LP  
Ryokurio-0 LP

"_I lost."_ Ryokurio's thoughts were fading with his consciousness. He didn't even realize where he lay now. _"Ronin, I wasn't able to help you. Only you can help yourself. Please if nothing else; consider my words to you very carefully… I'm sure you'll find the answer you seek on your own power, no that of someone else's."_

Ryokurio fainted, losing his entire consciousness as he lay there on the cold stone pathway next to the street. The white vapor that had formed during the duel had finally begun to settle and vanish into the night, drifting slowly downward onto the limp body of the victim in the duel.

* * *

"Darlings, you and your pathetic attempts to stop us are…" Placing her purple skinned fingers on her chin, Dementia took a second to come up with the right word to say. Her mind drawing a blank, she smirked at the group before her. "Pathetic indeed."

"Shut up!" Joe whipped his arm around his body. Standing up, he was standing before Kevin who was sitting on the floor, and Akina who was kneeling next to him to help brace him while he became more stable. "You think you're such hot stuff, than take me on!"

"Take you on?" Dementia cocked an eyebrow, taking a moment to pause before her head ripped backwards. From her mouth flowed uncontrollable amounts of high pitched, cackling laughter. This continued for a few moments, the sounds echoing off of the golden walls of the chamber.

"I'll admit, that was amusing." Thoth even admitted, a smart-ass grin dawning his elongated face. "The fact that you guys want to continue to stand up to us is rather entertaining, but at the same time annoying as hell. Why don't you just crawl into a hole, get out of our ways, and let us get on with our lives?"

"Because we are here to stop you." Reku announced, stepping forward and drawing the Egyptian looking demon's attention towards him. He, Gurabe, Order and Deruku all stood strong, glaring down the two monsters that rested on the opposite side of the room still. Reku was in a position to move like a mad-man out of hell if either of them were to go after Akina, Kevin and Joe, who were off to the side a bit from the group. "And no matter what you do," Reku continued, pointing an accusing finger at the two demonic monsters, "we will do whatever we have to, to stop you!"

"Right." Dementia had finally quelled her laughing fit. Licking her lips with a longer than normal, red tongue, the vampire woman grinned wide to bear her razor sharp fangs. "You are just lucky that Thoth doesn't have the same power of darkness and influence that I do, or your friend there that lost would be in just as bad of shape as that loser I beat to a pulp earlier."

"Ronin…" Reku's eyes widened, his body suddenly going into a relaxed, limp state. A boiling anger was bubbling up in his eyes, causing him to clench his teeth and narrow his brow. "You bitch! What in the hell did you do to Ronin?"

"Looks like you hit a sensitive spot on the large sponge of blood and flesh there." Thoth joked, looking at the vampire that stood next to him out of the corner of his eye. Looking back, he smirked an evil grin. "Haven't you figured out the differences in our card sets compared to, oh say, yours?

"You see, our decks are infused with extra energy, fed to them by our own energy. Since our power as a duelist is far above yours, our decks are greater in obeying and in the mere force of them all. Dueling against us with the duelists levels you are at is like a pip-squeak going up against a professional wrestler. We simply have more power in our decks."

"But I have something unique to mine." Dementia held up her left arm, showing off the black wristband that she wore, which was capable of folding out into her very own duel disk. "Mine is filled with the power of manipulation and deceit! You see, as a vampire, our natural traits are to influence the darkness and weaknesses of our victims, so they play into our very own hands in the end.

"Your little friend, Ronin was it?" Dementia got a very angered jerk of Reku's head; 'yes'. "Well, when he lost our duel, he was simply incapacitated by the sere force that was launched at him. He didn't brace himself well enough to the kind of duel he was entering into. So he failed, and got knocked around a lot worse because he wasn't ready for anything." Lifting both of her hands, she pointed her palms up towards the ceiling, smirking. "So well, what the end result was is that the final attack on him broke not only his pride, but any resistance he had built up to his own doubts and anger."

"In short, whatever defenses Ronin had built up to protect himself was broken open, and his darkness, his doubt, his frustrations and anger flooded out of him and consumed his soul." Thoth spoke, summarizing everything that Dementia had said just a moment before.

"What…" Reku was stunned, his body completely limp, his anger surprised by his overwhelming shock. His mind raced, putting together the pieces of Dementia's story.

_/Flashback/_

"_Ronin, where do you think your going?" Reku called out, rushing up and grabbing a hold of the back of his friend's shirt. "You seem a little too weak to be leaving right at this moment."_

_Ronin stopped, his arms hanging down at his side, his eyes fixating on a point in the carpeted floor of the hallway. Ronin's eyes began to slowly close, his mind wondering over his jumbled thoughts.  
_

_Reku soon found the right side of his face burning, and the walls rushing into a complete blur. His back soon found solid floor, shaking every bone in his body as the impact happened. Looking up, it took a second for his eyes to adjust, but he saw Ronin had turned around, his fist extending out to where Reku's head once was._

"_REKU!" Akina cried, rushing across the living room, entering from the door that led to the kitchen. With incredible speed, she race through the room and found herself kneeling next to Reku._

"_I'll show you." Ronin growl, bringing his fist back. "You won't be the one having the final laugh this time." And with that, Ronin turned, throwing open the front door and racing outside._

_/End Flashback/_

Reku contemplated that moment when Ronin had attacked him, then busted out of his house. _"That wasn't Ronin, that was Ronin's anger and frustrations. He must have misinterpreted when I said that he was weak. I meant physically, but he must have thought I mean he was weak period. Is that it Ronin?"_ Reku closed his eyes, a wave of guilt rushing through him. _"Are your frustrated because of me, because you think you have to take second place to me?"_

"Darling, you're so cute when you're realizing that your friend has lost himself." Dementia taunted the guilty look that was rushing over Reku's face. "Does that mean that whatever happened after our little encounter has something to do with you? Does your friend hold some sort of anger towards you? Jealousy of what you have, what you posses that he doesn't?"

"STOP IT!" Akina yelled, seeing the pained look coming on her loved ones face. Standing up, she stomped passed Joe to confront the evil woman that was causing pain to the ones around her. "How could you do that to anyone! Don't you have any conscious at all!" Akina was screaming, her hands curled into tight balled fists and her eyes clamped shut in frustration. "You are a low being, messing around with the psyche of the ones you defeat, and even the ones you haven't beaten yet. You have no honor do you?"

"Little girl, your insults of me are fine, cause I know they are worthless and have no backing to them." Dementia closed her own eyes, brushing a lock of her dark blue hair out of her face. "But…" Her yellow, slotted eyes snapped open. Veins rushing across her face popped out with her angered outbreak. "How dare you challenge my honor? It is a serious crime to call a vampire honorless, especially when you don't know! We honor a lot of things in the world; it's you humans that show nothing but disrespect and hate!" Snapping her left arm up, he black bracelet started to manipulate itself in an unnatural way, molding out a long piece of metal. Folding out from there, her duel disk activated, looking like a large bat wing. "You really are asking for this one, alright, lets play, and you will lose!"

* * *

Freyr laughed hysterically as he whipped is large, bulky red arm through the air at break-neck speeds, smashing into the airborne body of Heruru. The next thing the black haired demon knew, he was digging deep into the once golden brick wall, dust and dirt pluming out around his numb body as he slid out of the crater made onto the floor.

"Really, attacking from behind?" Freyr turned and continued to walk away while Hebanu and Kooru raced up to their fallen comrade. "I would think that even a demon of your pathetic level knows that no kind of sneak attack like that is going to work. You give us demons a bad name." Turning his head as he walked, the red skinned monster snarled at the three demons behind him. "You should just crawl back into the scum infested hole you came from and die already."

"You talk big." Heruru growled through gritted teeth, pulling himself up the wall to a very weak standing position. "But you are the only thing here that resembles scum. It's you, who needs to go on back home to where you belong, you no good pile of shit."

"And you say I talk big." Freyr stopped, chuckling a bit at the little speech given by the victim of his last attack. "And who is the one that, even outnumbering me three fold, you can't lay a scratch on me? You're insults won't work on me, as they are as scary as you _think_ you are. Speaking of which, you might want to work on that as well."

"You…" Kooru narrowed his eyes, his hatred for the red skinned monster before him was causing his blood to boil. Holding up his arm, he both braced Heruru, and stopped him from making another reckless charge at their enemy. Looking over, he saw the angered expression on his companion's eyes. "He is far to strong for any kind of attack, we need to get around his defenses somehow."

"Get around my defense's huh?" Kooru snapped his head back to see the three glowing red eyes of the massive demon inches from his own skull. The two razor sharp horns casting an outward shadow from the illumination, and the dark blue hair waving in the up rushing energy. "You don't even come close the same level in power that I have, even all three of you combined. And once I get my hands on the crystals energy, nothing can ever rise up against me."

"_He is increadably powerful…"_ Kooru's stone gray eyes were wide open, filling with a rolling terror of the sere strength showed by this opponent.

The next thing Kooru, Heruru, or Hebanu realized, there was a blinding flash of red light filling their eyes, their bodies burning from an incredible attack launched at them from point black range. Their bodies became huge weights pressing into the stone wall behind them, feeling the stone crumbling under both the pressure of their bodies, and the burning force of the attack. Then everything went black as the three demons lost consciousness.

"Fools." Freyr laughed, dropping his raised right hand to his side once again. He took a deep breath, relaxing after such and intense rush of speed. Growling, he clutched his chest with both of his claws, digging at the flesh there. His three eyes squeezed closed, water forming from the stress on the eyeball. _"Dammit, my powers haven't fully come back yet. Such speed and force I was using in that battle alone was pushing me to the limit." _His long, yellow nails broke the skin on his chest, drawing out pure crimson red blood from the pin-point holes. _"I'm ashamed to be in this weakened state, how in the hell could this happen to someone like me!"_ His mind screamed, finally feeling a release in the pain his body was going through.

Pulling his fingers from the holes he had produced on his chest, he let them fall to his side again, the blood still trickling down his chest, a darker colour than the skin of the monster. Curling his fingers into balled fists, he growled slightly, biting his lip with his huge fangs.

"Once I have the crystal in my possession, I won't have to worry about trivial things such as this." He spoke, turning and continuing his journey down the dark hallway to where he felt the crystals energy pulsating. The three demons that had stood in his way now lay embedded deep in the stone wall, all three completely knocked out cold. His foot falls echoing off the walls was the only sound left in the area.

* * *

Usami sat, tapping her foot at an increased pace upon the carpeted floor of her small, square living room. Here eyes darted once again to the clock that hung on the wall, a breath stolen from her when she read the hands to see the incredibly late hour.

"I'm sure your brother is fine, you really need to stop worrying so much." Sachiko came into the living room holding two glasses of juice that she had brought from the kitchen. Sitting down on the couch next to the panicking woman, she handed her the glass. "What could possibly go wrong? Just because its late doesn't mean anything, he probably just couldn't find…" Sachiko's eyes darted downward for a second, her voice suddenly growing softer. "Ronin…"

"Sachiko." Usami looked up, bringing the attention of her house guest back to her. A quizzical look dawning her face as she waited patiently to see what it was Usami had summoned her attention for. "If you don't mind telling me, what exactly did happen between you and Ronin? You two were such a good couple together, and you two, Reku and Akina were all such good friends."

"I…uh…" Sachiko's eyes darted away from Usami's, refusing to make any sort of eye contact at all. "You see, things just weren't connecting right, so we just had to break it off." Sachikio's voice was filled with a wavering tone that caused Usami to instantly doubt it. Glaring at her guest, she silently scolded her for not answering. "Alright, fine." Sachiko placed her drink on the ground, taking in a deep breath before looking at Usami. "Here is what happened."

_/Flashback/_

_Ronin and Sachiko were walking down a nice, lush green grassy slop that led down to a small lake located in the middle of a large park. Hands clasp together, the two of them stared out over the beautiful glittering lake water in the late evening hours. The horizon across the lake was dotted with a sinking yellow orb, casting its final rays of light across the darkening sky, tinting the area around it a lovely pink color. _

"_Oh Ronin, it's so beautiful here." She leaned in, hugging the man standing next to her. The two of them stopped on the hill, staring out across the gem spotted blue water with large smiles on their face, but Sachiko had a dark glimmer reflecting in her eye. _

"_Yeah." Looking around, the brown haired kid reminisced about the area they were in. "It was here that you and I finally came together. This place kinda holds some fond memories for us, doesn't it?" _

"_Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" Sachiko cranked her head around to look back up the hill to the flat stretch of land that raced across the ground. "This was also the first place where I got to duel with you, and the first time I actually helped you guys fight the power of Chaos's minions. The rest of the time I was completely useless and totally in the way." Lowering her head, Sachiko's voice dropped a few tones. "And even caused you and Reku to fight over me and Akina." _

"_Aww, honey, you were never in the way or worthless." Ronin squeezed her a bit, drawing her head up to his, their eyes locking. "You're support was most appreciated, and almost needed for sure. I don't know how much I could have done, much less the team, without your support. You've been there since the beginning, and technically, you named our little team if I remember correctly."_

"_Yup, Team Zero, the team formed from a grouping together of a bunch of nobodies from nowhere." Sachiko laughed a bit, getting a playful hit from Ronin before he joined in with the laughter. _

_Calming down, Ronin looked back over at the long sandy blond haired girl that stood next to him. "And if it wasn't for you, I really don't think I would have made it through that final duel alone against Chime. I was on the verge of giving up completely until you stepped in and encouraged me to keep fighting." Squeezing her tightly again, the two of them smiled warmly at each other. "So see, you've never, ever been in the way. You are a valued member of our team, and I don't think any of us would ever want to get rid of you." _

"_Yeah…" Sachiko's voice trailed off as she slowly pulled back away from Ronin so that she was standing freely on the hill side. Looking down at the lush, green grass that was below their feet, her voice still quiet, she continued to speak. "…but you might hate me soon." _

_Ronin, albeit startled by the sudden change in Sachiko, struggled to pull out the right words that seemed to be caught by the tight fisted grip of surprise. _

"_Wait…what? Why would I ever hate you honey?" He finally spit out, reaching out to her to take a hold of her once more. _

_She quickly dodged his hand, slowly walking backwards up the hill so that he easily couldn't grab at here again. Her eyes still distant, glaring off at the ground so that he she wouldn't have to make eye contact with Ronin. _

"_Well, I think that…" She began, trying to sound as sincere and compassionate as possible with her words. She just was struggling with which words would be the best ones to use to try and say what was really on her mind. "…you remember what happened between us on that day that we both me down here and became a couple? Why it was that we did?" _

"_Well, I thought it was because we liked each other." Ronin rubbed the back of his head, trying to figure out what the problem was. _

"_No, remember, it was because we both felt jealous of what Reku and Akina have together. We wanted what they had, and well, we got together. That is how it was for me anyways; I always thought that you had a crush on me from way back when." Blushing slightly, she continued to gaze off into space, not daring to see the stunned looked on Ronin's face. "And recently, I've been thinking, that we never really had anything between us. It was all just because of Reku and Akina that we even started going out in the first place." _

"_What?" Ronin's heart was breaking with every word Sachiko spoke, sending a crack of pain through his emotions. "Where did all of this come from? Why now? Maybe you're just sick and need to lie down." _

"_Ronin, I'm not sick." Sachiko looked up for the first time in ages, only to feel a wave of guilt rush through her as the heart broken eyes of Ronin met her soft green ones. Sighing, she had to continue to hold her front. She had come this far, there was no backing out now. "I have really thought this through, and I'm sure now more than ever that there is nothing that is, or will ever be between us. I'm sorry." _

_Jaw gaping wide open, Ronin stared at the woman that just a few moments ago he was having nothing but heavenly memories of the times they spent together, never believing it would end, and especially not like this. He watched as she painfully turned away from him again, walking slowly up the side of the incline until she had reached the flat topped surface. Turning, she looked back down at him. _

"_Wait, Sachiko!" Ronin cried, rushing up the hill until he was standing next to her. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he gently shook her as he spoke. "You're playing some kind of joke right? A little 'ha ha' funny comedy to end the day with…right? Right?" _

"_Ronin, stop it!" Sachiko smacked his arms away, pulling herself back so that he couldn't do it again. "This is no joke. It's over, please just accept that." _

"_I can't accept that." Ronin spoke softly, pain oozing off of each and every one of his words. "I can't and won't accept that you are just in a daze and need to lie down. Get your thoughts strait and you will see how little sense you are really making right now."_

"_Ronin listen to me dammit! I am no sick, and I am thinking very clearly and sensibly. It's you that is losing his ever-loving mind. It's over, and if that is really how you want to say goodbye, than I never wish to see you again!" Jerking her body around, her long, sandy blond hair whipping around her body, then flapping out behind her like a cape as she took off storming across the park in a rage. _

_Ronin stood there, incapable of moving. He watched as the woman he loved stomped away from him, claiming to never, ever want to see him again. His knees felt weak, and his head suddenly grew dizzy. Sweat starting to form on his brow which he quickly, with jerky motions, wiped away. That was it. His legs collapsed and he fell to the soft earth below, his eyes still fixated on the woman he had just lost. _

_/End Flashback/_

Sachiko lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling replaying the story over and over in her own mind.

Usami had simply said 'ok, I understand' and that was the end of the conversation, but the memories had come back to Sachiko none the less. She had been trying to keep them away, to move on with her life with out thinking about Ronin.

Seeing him tonight had brought up some bad memories as it was, but reliving that exact moment made it even worse. She felt guilty for doing that to him; Ronin had a kind heart, and would never hurt any one or anything. For her to hurt him like that was too much to bear at times.

Rolling over on the bed, Sachiko stared at the wall of the room opposite the door. She was trying to forget about it and get some sleep, but sleep was evading her at ever turn, throwing back more thoughts of Ronin.

"I'm really sorry…" She sighed heavily, closing her eyes.

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Forced Energy Backlash**  
Trap  
Select one face-up effect monster on your opponent's side of the field. Equip this card to that monster. The monster's effect becomes invalid, and the monster is now treated as a normal monster card. Increase the attack and defense of the monster by 800 points.

Ryokurio: "This trap card that I'll be reviewing today was used by Ronin to lay a major hurting on me, as if I wasn't already hurting enough as it was. It gives an enemy monster 800 attack and defense points to add to its score, but at the same time turning it into a normal monster, sucking it completely dry of any effect it might have had. That could be devastating in the right, or wrong hands."

A/N: Also, I have officially opened up my forum, for you, the fans of my work, to come and talk about my works or ask any questions that are just burning a hold inside that head of yours. If you haven't yet, stop by. Who knows what interesting stuff I might post there…

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	14. Dead and Undead Alike Part 1

Episode 14: Dead and Undead Alike Part 1

"Little girl, your insults of me are fine, cause I know they are worthless and have no backing to them." Dementia closed her own eyes, brushing a lock of her dark blue hair out of her face. "But…" Her yellow, slotted eyes snapped open. Veins rushing across her face popped out with her angered outbreak. "How dare you challenge my honor? It is a serious crime to call a vampire honor less, especially when you don't know! We honor a lot of things in the world; it's you humans that show nothing but disrespect and hate!" Snapping her left arm up, he black bracelet started to manipulate itself in an unnatural way, molding out a long piece of metal. Folding out from there, her duel disk activated, looking like a large bat wing. "You really are asking for this one, alright, lets play, and you will lose!"

"Akina no!" Reku yelled, rushing across the gap between the two of them, stepping in front of her and spreading his arms wide, glaring down the vampire for even suggesting such a thing. "I won't let you do to her like what you did to Ronin. If you are looking for an opponent than I shall be the one you will face." Snapping up his arm, the emerald green duel disk that rested there began to hum, activating itself and snapping into its 'duel ready' mode.

"Alright darling, play the role of good guy hero and protect the damsel in distress." Dementia rolled her eyes, a bit bored with Reku's act of bravery. Pulling out her deck of cards, she began to shuffle them. "It'll just be another easy win for me, and this time I'm not really in the mood too play around with my prey. This defeat will be swift and just."

"In your dreams, bitch." Reku snarled, growing more and more annoyed with the woman. Thoughts of his best friend and his suffering ran through his mind as he prepared himself for the duel.

"Reku. Now is not the time." A strong voice came into the black haired duelists world, breaking him of his concentration long enough to see an outstretched, black sleeved arm. Tracing up its length, Reku saw Gurabe glaring off at the purple skinned monster that was preparing for the game, still shuffling her deck. "You have more important things to worry about. You all need to go chase after Freyr and the three demons. I'll stay here and deal with these two."

"Can you do it alone?" Reku questioned, getting a nod from Gurabe.

"Of course, their powers wouldn't affect the undead I wouldn't think." Holding up his left arm, the white duel disk on it hummed to life, snapping into placed. "I have at least that as an advantage than you humans do. Go, let me take care of this."

"Alright." Akina nodded, placing her hand on Reku's shoulder. "Come on, he is right, we do have something a bit more important to do."

"Right." Reku nodded, turning to Joe who was still standing next to them. "And what about you?"

"I'll stay and help Gurabe." Joe said, holding up his wrist to show the duel disk. "To provide back up and such that is needed, and I'll look after Kev as well." He said, motioning to the still sitting duelist, a dazed look in his eyes.

"Ok." Reku nodded as he and Akina took off running towards the door, meeting Order, Kaira and Deruku on their way out, vanishing from sight in the dark hallway.

Watching them leave, Gurabe then turned back to Dementia, placing his shuffled deck into his deck slot. "Alright, now it is my turn to deal with you." He grinned, raising his confidence level to a new high for this duel. "Don't be thrown off, I'll be the toughest opponent you'll ever face, and have the opportunity to lose to."

"You talk big darling, but can you back up those words out on the field?" Dementia snickered, pulling the top five cards from her deck and fanning them open. "I accept your little challenge, and we shall see who really walks away from this duel with the most life points."

"Very well." Gurabe, his confidence unwavering, shot back while sliding his own opening hand off of his deck and fanning it open before his eyes.

"Duel!" Thy both shouted, the life point counters beeping as they shot up to 4000.

Gurabe-4000 LP   
Dementia-4000 LP

"Alright darling, it's my pull first." Dementia announced, pulling a card from her deck and adding it to her hand, giving her six starting cards needed to play with. Pulling two of them out, she instantly put both of them on her bat like dueling plate. "I set one card first, then…" Dementia's set card rippled into play before she placed her second card down. "Come out, Vampire Lady, in defense mode (1550/1550)."

On a horizontal card that appeared before the brown back one she just set, Dementia's light green skinned monster appeared. Whipping its purple hair out of its face, the seductive monster smiled wide, bearing her fangs for Gurabe to see. Her flowing purple dress ran across her crouching body, pulled tight by her crossing her two arms across her chest.

"Thus ends my turn darling." Dementia brushed a lock of her own blue hair out from in front of her slotted yellow eyes. "What kind of moves will you make I wonder."

"You will just have to wait and be amazed." Gurabe chuckled, sliding the top card off his own deck and adding it to his hand. _"She's in way over here head if she's using some sort of vampire deck. I'm the master of the undead! Her tactics will be useless."_ Gurabe pulled one of the other cards from his hand out, slapping it onto his duel disk. "I start with my Zombie Demon Vampiris (1000/1700), also in defense mode." Looking over his hand for a split second, he looked up with a large grin on his face. "That ends my turn." On the field before him, a red skinned monster appeared over a horizontal card. Black fur was in a mane around the neck of the demon looking monster, with a white face and evil grin. Its hands were two large claws, crossed over its body to indicate defense mode.

"And starts mine." Dementia pulled a new card from her deck, sliding it into her hand of cards to bring her total back up to five. Reaching down, she shifted the monster card on her duel disk vertical, changing it into attack mode. "It is time for me to go on the offensive, seeing how little bit of a play you just made."

Her monster stood up straight, stretching out its petit frame. Smiling wide with her blood red lips, the monster looked on with nothing but lust burning in her eyes, waiting to be called into battle.

"Magic card go!" Dementia announced, placing one of the cards in her hand into her duel disk. "Coercive Magic Eyes is a card that allows a dead monster with 2000 attack points or less, such as my Vampire Lady, to attack you directly on this turn." Smirking with her plan, she whipped her arm forward. "And because of my monsters special power, you'll lose one card from your deck along with the life points lost. But I'll get to that in a moment, for now, attack my monster!"

Taking off in a blast of speed, the green skinned monster raced past Gurabe's defending monster and sunk her fangs into his neck.

Gurabe-2450 LP  
Dementia-4000 LP

"Now my monster's power kicks in." Dementia spoke, watching her monster withdraw its fangs from its victim and race back to her field. Gurabe slapped his free right hand over the spot on his neck, growling in pain with how the duel felt. "Because I've dealt battle damage to you, from your deck you must discard one card of my choosing." Thinking a second, she pointed to him with a outstretched finger and a pointed fingernail. "I choose for you to scrap a trap card darling."

"I see." Gurabe, a bit angry from the direct attack, pulled out his deck and fanned it open. Pulling it out, he showed it to his opponent before sliding it into his graveyard. Shuffling his deck, he slid it back into his duel disk holder and looked back at his opponent. "Alright, I discarded my Tutan Mask to the effect of your little lady. So are you done with your turn yet so I can get back to taking you apart?"

"Keep talking big darling." Dementia licked her lips. "It makes you all the more delicious in the end. So yes, take your turn, if you dare."

"Don't you do that 'if you dare' crap, it's about a three year olds comeback." Gurabe slid the top card off of his deck as he spoke. "Draw!" Taking it in his hand, he pulled out one of the cards he was already holding and moved them to his duel disk. "I set two cards face-down on the playing field." A ripple of light indicated the two cards being set upon his field, followed by the virtual card holograms of his hidden cards. "For my next card, I choose the continuous magic card; Card of Safe Return."

"Ah, I see darling. So every time a monster is revived from the graveyard to your side of the field, you are allowed to pull one more card from your deck." Dementia went into detail, pulling out the most likely plan for Gurabe's combo in her head. "So let me guess, you'll be planning on doing a lot of revival in this game, huh?"

"My zombies do more than just return from the grave, but you'll find that out soon enough." Gurabe pointed to his opponent while he spoke. "I end my turn there then."

"Such unimpressive plays." Dementia sighed, a bit disappointed in the lack of skill her opponent seemed to possess. For talking so big before hand, she would of thought he could come up with something better than this. Moving the top card off of her deck, she proceeded to place it onto her duel disk. "I normal summon my Vampire Bats this turn!"

From up behind the woman rose a huge, raven black, and very rabid looking bat. Blood red hair ran across the top of its head, matching the two glowing, eerie eyes the monster had to go with it. (800/800) (1000/800)

(Vampire Lady 1750/1550)

"Vampire Bat's increase my monsters attack points by 200 because they are zombies. Thus giving my Lady enough force to take out your defender. Go! Show him your deadly bite my beast!" With an order given, the obedient monster took off across the field, sinking her teeth into the monster that had been defending Gurabe this whole time. The rough skinned monster howled in pain before exploding into tiny data bits floating around his field. "And my bats will take a chunk out of your precious life point's darling. Go, direct attack!"

"Not today." Gurabe waved his arm over one of his set cards, it began to flip up revealing some sort of strange monster busting out of the side of another gruesome monster. "This trap is known as Appreciation of the Undead. It works by me first discarding one monster card from my deck to the graveyard." Gurabe pulled out his deck, fanning it open once again and sliding one of the cards out of it. Flipping it over, he showed it to be another Zombie Demon Vampiris (1000/1700). "Now I get to special summon one monster from my graveyard that is a zombie type monster, with equal stars. So I chose to revive my first Zombie Demon Vampirirs, defense mode!" Once again appearing before him, his red skinned demon monster snarled with its reappearance.

The green boardered card that was sitting on Gurabe's field began to glow, activating with the return of the zombie monster. Gurabe smirked, sliding the top card off of his deck and adding it to his hand.

"My Card of Safe Return allows me to draw. Now, do you have any other plays you wish to make, or can I take my turn already?"

"No, no. You may make your move now. I'm finished." Dementia slapped the cards she had in her hand shut, crossing her arms and waiting patiently for the opponent to make his move. She had a confidence about her that made Gurabe doubt his current strategy, and made both Joe and Kevin shiver.

"This isn't good." Kevin whispered, looking at the duel. "Dementia is, I'm guesses, as strong as Thoth. Gurabe's tactics will have to be brought up if he's hoping to survive this duel with her."

"Your right Kev." Joe nodded, looking at the current set up of the game. "All Gurabe has done is pull cards and play defense. I know he's trying to build up for a good zombie swarm, but this isn't going to be easy for him to do with Dementia playing like she is."

* * *

Order and Deruku bent over, looking at the three unconscious demon bodies in the hold smashed in the wall. Kaira had her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide with terror at the sight of the three bloody demon friends she had made so long ago. She had never fathomed the possibility that they could ever lose, much less be put into this shape by one being. This Freyr was incredibly strong to have done this single handedly.

"This is horrible." Akina clutched onto Reku's shoulder as the three of them, Reku, Akina and Kaira, stood back and watched Order and Deruku examine the wounds that had been inflicted on the three of them. "They seemed like such strong being too, to have them beaten to a pulp like this is beyond anything I could have possibly imagined."

"This Freyr guy is awakening his powers at an alarming rate. Is this how high his power goes, or does it only get worse from here on?" Reku asked, drawing Deruku's head towards him. Down casting his eyes, he shook his head solemnly.

"I'm afraid that he hasn't yet awakened his full power. And if he gets his hands on the crystal, he will pretty much be unbeatable. The kind of power merger could cause some sort of distortion in the realms, and maybe even a special collapse."

"We have to stop him." Reku growled turning and continuing his journey down the hallway to the room the crystal was stored in. This time though, he was running at full bore, using all the muscles in his legs to push him towards the chamber. Akina and Kaira took off running behind him, getting a late start, they feared to never catch up to the black haired duelist.

"Can we stop him though?" Order asked once the three of them had left. Lifting her head, she adverted her gaze from the bodies left in the hole and looked at Deruku. "I know these kids have done well, they are the chosen ones, picked by the crystals themselves to help guard against this kind of enemy. But I don't think they even have what it takes to stop them. These three," Order motioned to Kooru, Heruru, and Hebanu with her thumb as she spoke, "the actual guardians of this crystal were beaten up this badly. Though I doubt Freyr walked off uninjured, but the fact remains that he walked off period."

"I know." Deruku sighed, looking in the damaged wall to see the three demons once again. "How are they, are they even alive?"

"They are, they have just been knocked unconscious." Order bowed her head, her eyes closed. "They just need some rest and then I'm sure they will be fine. But, that will take time." Opening her soft, gentle eyes that seemed to tell Deruku the whole story that he already knew, she continued to talk. "The one thing we don't have. Time.

* * *

"Draw!" Gurabe yelled, snapping the top card off of his deck and holding it up so he could see its face. "Magic card activate! Premature Burial." Sliding the card into his duel disk, Gurabe ejected his graveyard slot and pull out the only monster in it. "By paying 800 life points, I get to special summon one monster from my graveyard to the field. Come back Zombie Demon Vampiris!"

Gurabe-1650 LP   
Dementia-4000 LP

Holding up his duel disk, Gurabe grinned with a pleased smile. "When I have two Zombie Demon Vampiris's on the field outside of a battle phase, I get to special summon a third one from my hand deck or graveyard. And while I'm at it, Card of Safe Return gives me another draw."

Sliding the top card off of his deck first, Gurabe drew his free card, then pulled out his deck and found the monster he was searching for with one quick swipe of his eyes. Pulling it out, he slapped it down on his duel disk, creating the third red demonic monster to appear on the field next to the first two.

"And for my next brilliant play, I sacrifice the two freshly summoned Zombie Demon Vampiris's in order to call out one of my bigger beasts!" Moving the two monster cards and the equipment spell card to his graveyard, Gurabe slapped down one of the cards in his hand with triumph. "Rise up; Despair from the Dark (2800/3000)!"

A large, red and black shadow monster began to creep its way up from the golden tiles of the floor below. Taking the shape of a nasty, wicked fiend, the monster had its mouth open in pure desire for food. Noxious purple smog was billowing off the skin of the monster, rolling across the floor and setting an eerie stage for the duel.

"Now that I have my power house monster on the field, why no let him show you some real fear. Go! Attack and destroy her Vampire Bats!" Gurabe ordered, snapping his arm up so that he was pointing directly at the floating black bat. Smiling in the joy of killing, the large shadow monster reached out with its razor sharp claws, taking a hold of the bad and beginning to squeeze it.

"Trap card open!" Dementia whipped her arm out, the set card flipping itself up and shining in an increasable light with its activation. "Hellish Ark to Safety, a trap that works only when a fiend or a zombie type monster is attacked. I decrease the damage I would take from the battle to zero." Dementia spoke as a large, wooden ship appeared around her bats just as the claw sunk in for the attack, smashing the wooden sides to bits to reach the prize it seeked inside. "Not only that, but now your monsters attack and defense points are cut in half. Just for even attempting to attack my monsters."

Black and purple lightning bolts shot out from the hole around the claw of the monster, racing up its arm and encircling around its body. Numbing all the creatures' movement, and causing such extreme pain to the behemoth of a monster that it even lashed out, screaming in pain. Throwing its head back to roar at the ceiling, the monster felt each point stolen from it being ripped from its very soul. Snatching back its claw, the monster rushed back to Gurabe's field, flailing and howling in pain still. (1400/1500).

"Oh, and before I forget." Dementia pointed to her opponent, who was busy watching as his strong monster was so easily brought to its knees. "Hellish Ark to Safety allows you to draw a card for allowing me the pleasure of torturing your monster."

"…bitch…" Gurabe growled, sliding the top card off of his deck as per the rule of Dementia's trap card.

The wooden boat, with a large gaping hole in its side, shattered into tiny data fragments. From within the safe belly of the ark, the black bat spread its large wings, floating back down to its place behind Dementia's head. Not a scratch was on its body.

"Wait, I thought your trap prevented you from taking damage, not your monster!" Gurabe yelled out, questioning the floating bats existence on the field. "There is no way you could have activated another trap to save it, so put it in your graveyard slot this instance."

"I don't think I will." Dementia smirked; in her hands was her deck of cards being ever so slowly shuffled. "You see, my Vampire Bats have a special ability that activates when they would be destroyed. I discard another Vampire Bats from my deck to my graveyard and I am able to stop the destruction of the one on the field. With this in mind, your attack did nothing but weaken your monster, and give you one free card. Anything else you wish to do with your turn darling, or is my turn to wipe the floor with you." Dementia mocked Gurabe's earlier comment to her, sending a wave of anger rushing across his face.

"Just take your turn." Gurabe growled, with most of his options used up for the particular point in the turn, the five cards he held didn't even seem worth attempting to play. Gurabe had to rely on the face-down card he had set for the only source of protection if Dementia were to play some sort of dangerous move. _"I cannot let her have her way. I will win this game, and I will do what needs to be done to win it. She thinks she has the upper hand, but she won't have it for long. It's about time I took control of this duel and put her on the defensive." _

"Very well darling, no need to get so worked up. I've changed my mind anyways; I'm having fun torturing you in this game. My turn, draw!" With a quick jerk of her wrist, Dementia freed the top card of her deck, and slid it into her hand cards. Running her finger over the tops of the cards she held, she licked her lips as she contemplated her next move. Looking up, a grin shot across her pale purple face. "I sacrifice Vampire Lady in order to call forth my feared and all powerful monster: Vampire Lord!"

A tall, green haired man in a deep space purple robe appeared on the field, replacing the female vampire that stood in the spot just seconds before. His skin was pale, very eerie to look at. It was obvious by that, his slotted yellow eyes, and the two large fangs poking out from under his upper lip that he was a lord of the undead, a vampire (2000/1500). A sudden red aura seemed to trace its way up the body of the monster, giving it incredible power to add onto its own from the special effect of Dementia's Vampire Bats (2200/1500).

"Heh, I'm very familiar with your monster. You're not the only one to use it and its power." Gurabe shrugged off the newly summoned monster, he himself playing the same card many times before in his dueling career. "It holds no secrets that I don't already know myself."

"Good, then I don't have to explain its effect to the likes of you. I'll just set this one card and go on the attack with him! Strike down that fools Despair from the Dark!"

With a whip of his cape, the Vampire Lord took out across the field with a dash, never touching the ground once between his spot on Dementia's field to the shadowed body of the large monster. With incredible speed and accuracy, the monster took off skyward, flying vertically until it came to the head of the roaring beast. Moving up close to it, the vampire sunk its fangs into the 'neck' of the shadow beast, causing it to roar in even more pain before exploding into tiny data bits. Its prey gone, the Vampire Lord floated back to its spot on Dementia's field, touching down on the ground.

Gurabe-950 LP  
Dementia-4000 LP

"And because of the effect of my Vampire Lord, because I dealt you damage, you must discard a card of my choosing from your deck. I think I shall once again call: trap." Dementia pointed to Gurabe, who stood there unmoving for a second.

"I thought you weren't going to explain how the card works, 'cause I know already myself. But here is something you don't know. Reverse card open! Michizure! When a monster on my field goes to the grave, I get to chose to destroy a monster on the field with this card. You would only thin your deck of a third Vampire Bats if I targeted that, so I'm going to go straight for your Vampire Lord, ridding it of the field."

Both duelists watched as the green haired vampire suddenly vanished in a wisp of air, Dementia putting the card into her graveyard slot, smiling the whole time she was doing it.

"Yes, I know, because of Vampire Lords effect, it will come back during your next standby phase. But that is all the time I need to do the damage I need to do to you." Sliding out his deck, he flipped through cards until he came to a trap to discard. "I didn't forget to discard either. I'll send my Spirit Barrier to the graveyard due to the effect of your monster. Now, it's my turn!"

With a swift jerk of his hand, Gurabe added a sixth card to his hand. Staring at his options, he wanted to make sure he didn't make a mistake in his play. He had to deal as much damage as was possible to her this turn while her powerful monster was resting in the grave. He may not get a chance like this again, so he had to take it. But he couldn't be stupid; Dementia had one set card on the field. And her Vampire Bats could live through one attack. He would have to make a smart play to avoid getting really hurt in the backlash.

"Magic card; Yellow Skull Flame. When I activate this card, I select one face-down card on the field, and remove it from play. If it happens to be a magic card, I would be able to strip our decks, hands and graveyards of all cards with that same name." Gurabe announced, sliding a card from his hand into his duel disk. The green bordered card appeared on his field, sending out a wave of rushing yellow flames that swept over Dementia's set card, instantly burning it to a crisp. But something wasn't right. The burning card flipped up, glowing with a blast of yellow light before shattering into millions of little pieces of data.

"Don't get too cocky yet darling, the card you targeted and destroyed is known as Undead Bed. While being set on my field, if it were to be destroyed its effect activates instantly. Allowing me the pleasure of special summoning one of my zombies in my cemetery." Dementia smirked, pulling out the stack of cards that had been ejected from the hole on her duel disk. Fanning open the five cards she now held, she grabbed one of them and placed it in an open slot on her duel disk. "And my choice shall by my lovely girl friend; Vampire Lady (1550/1550) (1750/1550)."

Once again, next to the floating bat monster appeared the light lime green skinned monster in a flowing purple dress.

"_Dammit."_ Gurabe cursed, he would have been better off leaving the set card completely alone. Now he had to deal with Dementia's Vampire Lady on top of the Vampire Bats which could still live through another attack.

Fanning open the cards in his hand, he prepared to make his next move. Pulling out one of his monster cards, he slapped it down onto his duel disk.

"I shall summon my Thunder-Struck Zombie (1300/700) in face up attack mode." Gurabe announced, a rotting, brown skinned monster appeared on the field before him. Snapping its thin sword through the air, the monster left a trail of sparks and lightning cracks in its wake. Blood shot eyes glared out at Dementia as the wicked beast snarled. "And next I shall play this magic card; Ascend from the Cemetery. By paying life points equal to the star level of a zombie monster in my graveyard times 200, I am capable of special summoning that monster to my side of the field. I of course choose my Zombie Demon Vampirirs, costing me 800 life points for its four stars."

Gurabe-150 LP  
Dementia-4000 LP

With the special summoning of the red skinned demon monster, Gurabe's active magic card began to glow, and he snapped a new card off of his deck. Then, with that task complete, Gurabe's two zombie demons began to glow in a slightly bluish aura, and the third of them that was resting the graveyard still joined them on the field. Once again, Gurabe drew a card for his monsters successful revival.

"Here is where things will get ugly for you Dementia. Watch this." Moving his defending Zombie Demon Vampiris on his duel disk vertical, the crouching monster stood up, all four monsters on his field now in attack position. Snapping his arm up, he pointed to Dementia's monsters. "And here we go, entering my battle phase, the power of a magic card buried in my cemetery activates. Yellow Skull Flame has a second power besides removing some of your hidden traps. But during this turns battle phase, all zombies on my field gain 300 additional attack points, making my monsters tough enough to stand up to yours."

A beam of light shot from the hole in Gurabe's duel disk, wrapping itself around the monsters that stood battle-ready on his field. Growling, the four monsters began to bulge with strength.

(Thunder-Struck Zombie 1600/700) (Zombie Demon Vampiris 1300/1700)x3

"Go my first Zombie Demon Vampiris, attack her Vampire Bats, followed up by my second one to finish off your monster!" Gurabe sliced his arm through the thick dueling air, cutting a wave of energy from him to his monsters and sending them racing into attack. One after another, the red skinned monsters raised their huge claw like hands, the first one bringing it down across the monsters body causing it to screech in pain. The second demon monster slammed its own claw down, crushing the bat under its incredible weight.

Gurabe-150 LP  
Dementia-3400 LP

Dementia slowly shuffled her deck from discarding her third Vampire Bats card to prevent the destruction of the one on her side of the field. A slight smile pulling up the sides of her lips on her face as she placed the shuffled stack back into her black bat wing-like duel disk. (Vampire Lady 1550/1550)

"Go Thunder-Struck Zombie, attack and destroy her Vampire Lady!" Gurabe snapped his hand forward, the horrid looking monster racing past its master and slicing its electrified sword across the torso of the female monster. Screaming in pain, the monster shattered its card image into tiny data bits.

Gurabe-150 LP  
Dementia-3350 LP

"And to finish this attack swarm, go my third Vampiris! Direct attack!" Gurabe yelled, the fourth monster on his field jumping high into the air above both of the duelists. Roaring out a gruff, rock like battle cry the demonic looking beast began to fall down to earth once again, slicing its massive claw vertically down Dementia's body, causing her to slide backwards from the shockwave generated by the solid vision technology.

Gurabe-150 LP   
Dementia-2050 LP

(Thunder-Struck Zombie 1300/700) (Zombie Demon Vampiris 1000/1700)x3

As Gurabe's monsters stats fell back to their original levels, Gurabe continued with his turn, pulling two more cards from his own hand and placing them into his duel disk. "I set two of the cards in my hand face-down on my side of the field. And considering my monsters did such a grand job dealing you almost half of your life points worth of damage, I'd like to see what you could pull off to pull this game back in your favor. I end my turn."

"Darling." Dementia closed her eyes, still smiling with a creepily pleasant smile. "You are right, you did a good chunk of damage to my life points in your last turn. But for all of your big talk, you only have 150 life points left to fight on. You really think you can pull a win from such a low number? Especially when you have placed such weak monsters on your field, knowing full well what is going to appear on my field this turn." Sliding the top card off her deck, Dementia opened her eyes to see what it was she had drawn. In a rush of light from her graveyard, the green haired vampire ruler appeared once again on her field, smirking with his re-appearance. "Now then, to your punishment…"

* * *

Pushing open a huge, golden door, the red skinned demon known only as the master mind of evil at this point; Freyr, walked into a large chamber. The door, as well as the room, was extraordinarily decorated. Gold plated, with various colored gems embedded into its swirling designs. The handles to the door were long, swirled knobs that were quite big around its circumference. The pillars in the room were creative with extensive designs woven into it by the golden designs, criss-crossing and bouncing back and forth, like a never ending dance across the pillars face. The gems all shining, refracting the light of the torches lit all the way around the large rectangular shaped chamber.

Atop a circular pedestal sat the prized treasure that everyone seemed to be racing after. The large, powerful crystal that fell from space millions upon millions of years ago. Its power was legendary, known to all to be one of the greatest sources of power to ever seen the face of the earth. The smallest chunks of it produced such implausible force on their own, just little tiny shards compared to this colossal behemoth.

Its face was smooth, clear as glass. Inside of the massive rock appeared to be the image of rushing lava, tracing its way across the inner chamber of the crystal in a never ending loop. A white, powerful aura traced its way up the surface of the crystal, dipping into the parts of it where it looked like pieces had broken off, obviously the chunks broken off by the entering of the atmosphere, and the ones the children possessed.

"This is the prize I've fought long and hard to see for over 10,000 years." Stepping up, the demon placed a large hand on the surface of the crystal. "The mere essence of such a thing has the power to rip worlds apart. I cannot allow it to be abused and mishandled by the likes of humans or monsters alike." Closing his two normal eyes, the third one on his forehead began to glow with a dark lilac aura, seeping off of the eyeball and onto the surface of the crystal. "For the fate of the universe, I must prevent any reckless human from abusing the power of this ultimate treasure."

The aura began to merge into the crystal, tracing its way around the massive girth of the object, then racing up to the pointed top. This caused the crystal itself to start to glow a strange purple and black color, casting its light out onto the reflective golden tiles.

"For the love of all that is right, just, and decent with the world, I, Freyr, declare that I will never let this ultimate treasure be used by the selfish, power hungry monsters known as the human race ever again."

"And what do you plan to do with it yourself?" A angered, panting voice called out from behind the red demon. Turning his head, he saw Reku standing defiantly just inches through the open door to the chamber. "You plan to rip apart both worlds, and all worlds don't you. Destroy the 'evil' humans that you think are trying to abuse the power of the crystal. Well you're wrong! Me, and my friends, use the power of the crystal in a never ending battle it seems to keep its power from dropping into hands like yours." Snapping his hand across is body. "And you are a complete moron if you believe that I'd stand idly by as you took the crystal for your own sick minded plans."

"Human." Freyr turned his head back to the crystal before him, seeing that from the top of the monstrous gem beginning to evaporate into the flowing aura around it. "You have me pegged to be the 'evil' force in your delusional story that you are telling, where you are the shining heroic knight, destined to triumph over the evil monster and save the day. Well. Let me tell ye something…" Turning his head again, the monster looked directly at Reku from over his shoulder. "…your little story isn't as black and white as you would love it to be."

"What?" Reku's eyes grew wide for a second, narrowing with disgust. "Now your going to try and justify your damn evil means huh?"

"Who needs to justify anything?" Freyr increased the flow of energy from his body, attempting to make the possess of taking the crystal move quicker. "I'm not going to hide what is going on. I'm stealing the crystal from you people, so there is no way you will be abusing its celestial power to try and take over. Just like how it was happening 10,000 years ago."

"Right." Reku rolled his eyes, taking a step towards the monster. "I'm sure it's just so you can abuse the power and rule both worlds, or destroy both. Whichever your pleasure may be."

"See." Freyr shook his head slightly. "You see everything in black and white you color blind fool. I'm telling you right here and right now, what you believe to be the evil here is no more than good on my side. You cannot see that cause you are so dead set against seeing things from another angle, aren't you?"

"That's not true." Reku growled, leaning forward slightly. "It's obvious of what you are doing. And it is up to me and my friends to stop you."

"Won't listen to reason, will you?" Freyr asked, still slowly sucking away the large gemstone. "You would have no clue how the battle went all those years ago. What exactly happened, who was fighting and why."

"Two opposing sides were fighting over the crystal, one wanting to protect it, the other trying to steal it."

"Very general, I should have expected that from someone as dense as you." Reku growled, stepping closer to the demon. Freyr was unafraid of the approaching human, continuing to let his energy flow from his body into the aura around the crystal. "Maybe you should be put through a history lesson you little brat."

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Zombie Demon Vampiris**  
1000/1700/4/Dark/Zombie  
When there is another face-up Zombie Demon Vampiris on your side of the field outside of a battle phase, special summon a third Zombie Demon Vampiris from your hand, deck or graveyard to your side of the field.

Gurabe: "To all you living folks out there, I hope you are watching my duel with interest as to how my great power will prevail in this match! This is one of the tools I have been utilizing in this duel. It's quite handy, only it has to be run in threes to make it effective. Just got to summon two of them on the field together outside of a battle, and you can get a third one from anywhere in the duel, unless it has been completely removed from the game. With its high defense, it can last a bit if I'm lucky, but you all could see how quickly I can score two of them on the field.

A/N: A good reminder. Don't forget to drop on by a review with your thoughts and comments. They are much appreciated. Also, feel free to stop by my forum to ask questions and discuss anything you want to about my story. And for you beginning writers out there who are a fan of my work, there is even a fanfic help and tip thread to give some advice. I hope you all are enjoying my fic thus far, and hope to see you continue to read. Have a nice day folks!

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	15. Dead and Undead Alike Part 2

Episode 15: Dead and Undead Alike Part 2

"Darling." Dementia closed her eyes, still smiling with a creepily pleasant smile. "You are right; you did a good chunk of damage to my life points in your last turn. But for all of your big talk, you only have 150 life points left to fight on. You really think you can pull a win from such a low number? Especially when you have placed such weak monsters on your field, knowing full well what is going to appear on my field this turn." Sliding the top card off her deck, Dementia opened her eyes to see what it was she had drawn. In a rush of light from her graveyard, the green haired vampire ruler appeared once again on her field, smirking with his re-appearance. "Now then, to your punishment"

"Just try it, you witch." Gurabe curled his fingers into a fist, provoking his opponent to come after him. "Or are your vampires as spineless as they are soulless?"

"Watch yourself you little pest." Dementia snapped her arm forward. "Attack his first Zombie Demon Vampiris now!"

With a incredible force, the green haired monster took off flying across the field, never touching the ground from the place where it started from until it slid to a stop before the red skinned monster. Shrinking back with the sudden appearance of the foe before it, the Zombie Demon Vampiris stared up at the tall man who was coming at it now to sink its fangs into it.

"I'll tribute my Thunder-Struck Zombie then in order to activate this trap card." Gurabe called out, slicing his hand downwards so he was pointing towards one of the two set cards on his own field. "Open now; Altar for Tribute! This allows me to gain life points equal to the attack strength of the monster I choose to get rid of on my field." Gurabe's hideous electrifid monster vanished in a down rush of its data breaking up. The trap card glowed for a second, calculating the power to be added to Gurabe's current life points.

Gurabe-1450 LP   
Dementia-2050 LP

The Vampire Lord, already in mid-strike when this even took place, couldn't stop himself to see what was going on. Seeping his fangs into the monster, he bit down with full force until his prey became a victim, breaking apart into tiny data bits floating around the field.

Gurabe-450 LP  
Dementia-2050 LP

Jumping back to Dementia's field, the Vampire Lord scowled as it passed into Dementia's second main phase and the prey that it just struck down returned to the field in a shower of lights.

"Well, cause my Vampire Lord dealt you damage, get rid of a magic card from your deck." Dementia called out, Gurabe pulling out his deck.

Pulling out one of the cards that was close to the bottom he showed it to her. The magic card; Pot of Greed was then placed in Gurabe's graveyard slot, being pulled into the darkness beyond. Shuffling his deck, Gurabe slid it back into his deck holder on his duel disk, pulling the top card off of it and adding it to his hand as per the effect of Card of Safe Return.

"I'll just set one card, ending my turn darling, you got lucky to save yourself for one more turn at least." Smirking at her foe as he drew his top card to start his turn. "Trust me, you won't be around too much longer."

"I wouldn't say that if I were you. Trap card open! Crypt Rejection Influence! This card activates by me sending three cards from my hand to the graveyard." Taking three of the five cards he now held, he promptly slid them into his graveyard slot. It quickly ejected a card, which Gurabe whipped through the air to show it to his opponent, his recently discarded Pot of Greed. "Once I do discard my three, I get to instantly pull any card from my graveyard back to my side of the field. For this, I choose my Pot of Greed magic card, and draw two more cards from my deck."

Sliding the card instantly into his duel disk, Gurabe preceded to slid two more cards from his deck and add them to his hand.

"Now it is time to summon one of my favorite monsters to the field. Prepare yourself Dementia; it looks like fate is completely against you this game. Ritual magic card activate; Hell's Grave Side!" Sliding one of the magic cards he held into his duel disk, the card appeared before him on the field. A huge sucking windstorm kicked up from the card, pulling in two of the Zombie Demon Vampiris's on the field. "I must make a sacrifice of monsters whose level equal eight or more in order to call out this monster." Slapping one of the other cards from his hand down on the duel disk's playing field, he snapped his hand up to the arrival of his strongest monster. "Hell Grave Digger (3500/3500)."

From the tiled floor, a ripple in space appeared, slowly producing a large gray skinned behemoth of a monster. This monster was easily the biggest thing in the room, glaring down at the playing field before it. Over his shoulder he had a long wooden shovel, many spikes of wood sticking out form the handle, and the blade of the shovel was a strange shape, curved and pointed to look very wicked. The monster had a bald head, and two glossed over eyes. A stone like frown was carved into his powerful jaw, unable of ever changing.

"You are going down now, Hell Grave Digger use your power and destroy her Vampire Lord!" Moving with a stiff grunt, the monster brought the full weight of the shovel flying through the air, slashing it across the chest of the vampire and splitting him into to pieces that blasted apart on the site. "My overwhelming attack makes you lose a total of 1500 life points from that one attack alone. Don't feel so powerful now, huh?" Gurabe filled with pride that his move had worked, destroying Dementia's monster.

Gurabe-450 LP  
Dementia-550 LP

"And now to finish this." Gurabe snapped his arm forward, throwing an image towards his monster to start the attack. "Zombie Demon Vampiris attack now, destroy this woman with your Undead Claw Strike!"

"I'm sorry darling." Dementia closed her slotted eyes, shaking her head in a very poorly acted form of sympathy. The demon monster racing towards her at full speed, raising its claw to strike down the woman that stood before her. "You just aren't good enough to lay a claw on me. Reverse card open, quick-play magic card; Burning Blood Rush. To give you a run down of what this card does, it will start by cutting your monsters attack strength by half."

"What!" Gurabe was shocked, a wave of anger rushing over him. He watched helplessly as the attack force of his monster that was supposed to deliver the final blow was cut in half (500/1700).

The monster continued its assault, slamming its claw into Dementia's body and then recoiling and landing on Gurabe's field.

Gurabe-450 LP  
Dementia-50 LP

"The plus side for you is that in two of my standby phases from now, your monsters original attack points will be doubled. Giving you a 2000 attack point monster." Smirking slightly, she lowered her head, sending a superior look towards her opponent, who she felt was under her still. "If he lasts that long mind you darling."

"_Dammit, that just really put me in a bad spot. I had this bitch beaten with that move, but no, she just _has_ to fight back!"_ Gurabe curled his hand into a fist, slowly reaching up to his hand of three cards. "I set one card on my field, ending my turn." A ripple of light appeared before his feet, the brown back card shimmering into existence. _"But why wait and use it on my Zombie Demon Vampiris? If she had used it on my Hell Grave Digger, it would have dropped to 1750, and her Vampire Lord could have taken it out."_

"Draw!" Dementia inadvertently interrupted Gurabe's thoughts, snapping the top card from her deck and whipping it up so she could look at its face. "What an unfortunate mess you seem to find yourself in darling. Barely getting this far to start with and ya just can't deliver the final blow. Shows me the extent of your power quite clearly; you being in a prime position to win and falling short by such a short margin."

"Shut up you." Gurabe growled, annoyed with the woman's constant badgering of his skills. Behind him, Joe, and a still weakened Kevin, watched the duel quietly, neither of them sure of how the outcome was going to look. For a second there, it looked like Gurabe had the duel in the bag, but with one card, Dementia completely turned it around on him.

* * *

"Alright then." Reku stopped his movements, staring at the back of the large, unmoving behemoth of a monster before him. "You've got my attention. What is it you are planning to do with the crystal? Why do you make it sound as if you are the one trying to protect and save it?"

"The insolence in your questions is almost humorous." Freyr closed his eyes, all three of them. "A mere human like yourself, living such a short amount of time and seeing not even a recordable fraction of what I have seen, and yet you attempt to understand what is going on here. Well I'll try to make it as simple as possible. You see, pestilence, this crystal fell from the heavens over 10,000 years ago, crashing through the Earth's atmosphere. As I'm quite sure you are aware, there is intense power housed within the confines of this little space rock."

"Of course." Reku nodded, his eyes never once being taken away from the monster story teller.

"Well, the power started a chain reaction brought about by the entering of the Earth's atmosphere. This reaction was so strong it ripped open a dimensional hole, slicing through the boundaries that separated Earth, and the Dominion of the Beast.

"This was also an implausible amount of force to put the crystal through. Like the atmosphere, this too took its toll on the chunk of space rock. Causing cracks, and breaks in it. Finally, tiny shards were shaved off, taking off on different routes for parts unknown. To be logical, most likely in both worlds. In fact, I know for sure that a large chunk that broke off fell into the Earth, brewing for a while, then being discovered quite a while later." Shrugging slightly, Freyr tried to convey a look of not understanding the humans' stupidity. "Though they never knew where it really came from."

"Then if you know, by all means, do share." Reku's words were heavily drenched in sarcasm and flowing anger.

"I don't know for sure, as there was more to be done." Freyr was speaking somewhat slowly, as if to make sure to recollect all the details. "I had heard plenty of rumors though that the people of an ancient civilization had found this power, and were using it to their own advantage. I could tell from the descriptions of it, and the stories flowing out of there, that it was indeed a part of this crystals power. I believe the name given to it was Orichalcum. A precious stone that was highly treasured for its rarity as well as its power. Later falling under the name of Orichalcos I believe."

"Ori…chalcos…" Reku couldn't help be stare blankly at the demon before him. "It has been a long time since I had heard that name. And we had learned that it did have something to do with this crystal. But why bring that up now?"

"Because it's a perfect example to my point." Freyr interrupted, before Reku could continue any further. "You see, the crystal shards and shavings were being adapted, taking of characteristics of surrounding powers and places. Thus giving each chunk a slightly different, altered power and appearance."

"_Like the different colours and abilities our crystals have. Mine taking on the form of a ruby gem. Now that makes sense…"_ Reku thoughts were finally putting pieces together, what Freyr was saying made a lot of sense, and appeared to be the truth.

"But at the same time, there was nothing less than tremendous power inside the crystals. This power is far too much for any human heart and soul to take in even in a extended amount of time, which made this so much worse 'cause the power flowing from the crystals is almost instant, rushing out in massive droves.

"Humans, when gaining large amounts of energy, tend to become greedy, and power hungry. Which is fed by the darkness in the human soul."

"And you are trying to twist the concept of good and evil…" Reku interrupted, swinging his arm through the air. "You're going to go on and tell me that these people who sought power would destroy everything in their way to get it. Yet your little story has a huge loop hole that really bites you in the ass." Snapping his arm out, he thrust an accusing finger at the demon before him. "You are no better than any of those 'power hungry humans' seeking after power, and destroying everything in your way. You want the crystal for your own reasons." His arm dropped to his side, his head tilting forward with a smirk creasing his lips. "You're just hiding behind this little lie of 'I must steal it so no one may abuse it'."

"Alright, fine." Freyr just watched Reku until he was done with his little speech. "Seems that once something like that gets into your thick skull, nothing I can say or do will prove it like wise."

* * *

"Now darling, with only 450 life points to go on, let me see how well you last out this move. Magic card activate: Book of Life! By taking from your graveyard and removing from play one of your Zombie Demon Vampiris's, I can special summon my Vampire Lord back to my side of the field."

A rush of lights erupted from Dementia's field, the said magic card appearing in a hologram and spitting out a green, hard back book. Opening its pages, the book sent out a plume of purple smoke, launching out the Vampire Lord from deep within its murky confines. Floating above the field, the resummoned monster slowly hovered downwards until it was standing on the golden floor. The purple smoke giving way to gravity, falling to the arena around it.

"And now I sacrifice my great Vampire Lord, removing him from play in order to call out his most devastating form yet!" Picking up the orange bordered card, Dementia flicked down another orange colored card, sending waves of rainbow colored light rushing through her bat-wing duel disk. "Vampire Genesis!"

As this was taking place, Dementia's monster was being engulfed by the purple smoke, rushing up its body until the monster was no longer visible. Continuing to climb, the smoke took on the form of a bigger, nastier shaped monster, as the creature locked inside its fluffy walls was undergoing an insectoid like metamorphosis.

Crashing through the smoke cocoon, the large, new vampire king rose upon the field. Snapping its buff, deep purpled arms back, the monster let out a blood curdling roar that echoed throughout the golden room. A red, clawed piece of clothing wrapped its way around the arms of the beast, creating a strange looking rope wrapped around the shoulders of the monster.

Roaring, the monster snapped open its meaty jaw, a wave of gray smoke rushed from inside its mouth. The smoke began to spiral around the body of the beast, creating an aura around the best making it look all the more ferocious.

"My Vampire Genesis can use its power, discarding one card from my hand to revive one zombie monster in my grave of a level that is equal or lower than the monster I scrap. So there is no way you can win now. I scrap Curse of Vampire in order to call forth once again; Vampire Lady!" Sliding one card from her hand into the grave, the pale green skinned woman appeared next to the large, purple beast. Smirking with her reappearance, the monster stared down Gurabe's monster with lust rushing in her eyes (1550/1550). "Attack my Genesis, destroy Zombie Demon Vampiris!"

Snapping its bulky fist back, the monster slammed it into the small red demon, causing it to instantly explode into many tiny particles floating across the field. The wave from the attack sending Gurabe hurdling backwards into Kevin and Joe. The holograms of the monsters vanishing into the now very dusty feeling chamber, courtesy of Vampire Genesis's summoning.

Gurabe-0 LP  
Dementia-50 LP

"Darling, that was sure entertaining. Maybe next time we duel," Dementia turned, walking back towards Thoth. Her hand over her mouth as it stretched wide into a yawn. "You can actually keep me awake."

"Don't bother getting your hopes up." Thoth warned her as she finally made it back over to standing next to him. The two of them looked over at the young man who was sitting up, looking to be in somewhat of a daze. "It doesn't appear like these little pests are very much more capable of keeping us entertained in battle than an ant is capable of lifting an entire house by itself."

"You're probably right darling, but" Looking at the tan skinned demon that was standing next to her, she cocked her head to the side "can't I at least hope?"

* * *

"So just stop what you are doing and get the hell out of here." Reku pointed to the still stiff-as-a-board demon that was gradually sucking up small bits of the crystal with the purple and black aura that had engulfed it.

"I don't think I…" Freyr was interrupted as a shiver visibly ripped across his red skin, shaking his spinal cord with tremendous power. All three of his eyes snapped wide open as he watched with his increased vision as a blood thirsty, gray haired demon came flying over the top of Reku's head, aiming a deadly pair of claws straight at him. _"While absorbing like this I can't move what so ever. I'm screwed!" _

"Freyr you bastard!" Kooru screamed, his razor sharp claws touching down on the back of the monster, ripping the hide open into gushing blood holes. Landing against his back with his whole body, Kooru proceeded to dig and rip at the flesh on the back of the demon, who had thrown his head back in a roaring howl of pain. "Never turn your back on an opponent, it makes you vulnerable. But well, I guess my advice is of no use to you now." Kooru's voice was filled with malice as he spoke, still digging long, bloody gashes down the back of the monster. "You won't live long enough to put it to use."

"Dammit Kooru!" Freyr howled, incapable of directing any energy into fighting off his wild attacker.

Reku stood there in complete shock. To his human eyes, all he had seen was Freyr standing there one minute, then a large gray mass suddenly appearing on the monsters back, before seeming to take shape into the form of one of the demons he had seen upstairs earlier. He watches as the once calm and tranquil demon ripped like a rabid dog at his opponent's backside. This was one of the most horrendous and gory sights Reku had ever had the displeasure to get to witness up close and personal.

"Die you!" Kooru winded back his right arm, flexing open his fingers so that the pointed ends of his deadly fingernails were aimed directly at the oozing back of the monster he was assaulting. Slamming it forward, Kooru sank his claws deep into the back of the monster, causing another nauseating scream to be ripped from the lungs of the behemoth.

Reku adverted his eyes so he didn't have to see the impact against the monsters back. When they were slowly peeled open, he could hear footsteps racing towards him. Looking up down the hall, he saw Akina, Kaira, Order and Deruku come running into the chamber.

Once Akina saw the bloody mass of a monster in front of them, she shrieked and buried herself in Reku's arms so that she didn't have to look at the scene. Kaira also downcasted her eyes to the golden floor of the room, the tiles refracting a multitude of colors from the events in the room. That is when she saw the purple and black reflections leaving, slowly fading off into the flickering candle light.

A rush of energy burst outwards, and Kooru went soaring through the air and into one of the walls on the side of the room. The impact instantly sent spider web like cracks racing from the point of impact on the wall. Falling to the tiled floor, Kooru's body was limp and help less as it piled up on the floor. A few of the candles and candle holders that were attached to the wall fell to the ground next to the body, being loosened by the tremendous impact.

The reason for Kooru's sudden departure from the monsters back, was the now large, ridged and stained with blood, pair of wings jutting outwards and flapping slightly. The raven black feathers fell off of them, floating gently to the ground where they accompanied the pools of crimson colored blood dripping off of the beast. Releasing them with such force had knocked the attacker off, saving Freyr from suffering any more terrible blows. His back had literally been torn to shreds, and some chunks of meat were dangling off but not fully falling yet.

Collapsing to his knees, the monster wrapped himself inside his arms like a blanket, shivering slightly. Snapping his head up, he glared a death gaze at the once again unconscious monster laying sprawled out against the floor.

"Damn you. Damn you to hell!" He screamed in a growling tone, his body then suddenly erupting into flames and vanishing right before them all.

Looking up, Reku and Akina saw the scene before them. The now quiet chamber was a complete mess. A good chunk had been taken off the top of the crystal. Pools of blood stained the floor before the large gem stone, with black feathers still slowly drifting downwards to come to rest in the crimson colored lakes. And against the right wall, the massive heap that was Kooru sat motionless, a small river of blood trickling out from underneath him into the wax of the candles that had fallen next to him.

"What just happened to him?" Reku questioned, not taking his eyes off of the room for even a split second.

"It would appear as if after being wounded severely in Kooru's attack, he retreated for now." Deruku stepped past the group, walking slowly out until he was about halfway to the place where the battle scene just took place. Turning back, he looked at them. "And Kooru did a bang up job on him. It'd be nice if Freyr was put out of commission for a little while due to that attack. Though not seeing how deep his wounds were, I can't judge for sure."

Motioning with his head, Deruku pointed to the collapsed form of Kooru that lay against the wall.

"We are just lucky he suddenly snapped awake like that, we had left him behind, and he still made it here before us." Slowly walking towards him, he continued to speak. "Reku, care to give me a hand in transporting him."

"Sure." Reku nodded, giving one last squeeze to the woman still wrapped in his arms. Breaking apart, Akina watched as Reku jogged across the chamber to catch up to Deruku.

"This sure has become one big mess." Akina's eyes were shaking, her delicate fingers resting at her side, so limp that they were solid. "I can't believe how much damage has been done already because of Freyr and his servants."

"Today has sure been eventful, that is for sure." Kaira placed her hand on the woman's shoulder, comforting her with a gentle shake and a warm smile to her sweet lips. "I can't help but think that this isn't just some burden placed on you. I feel that Kiro and I are also involved, with our connections to those demons. Remember, you are not alone. I can't do much, but I will do whatever I can to help."

"Thank you." Akina turned to the woman, bowing slightly to here. "I'm sure that we will appreciate your help. Just like how a friend of mine always stuck by us, even though she couldn't do anything herself. We all just are a team bound by glue, and we are glad to have you and Kiro to help." Smiling deep with her eyes, Akina and Kaira hugged for a second, thanking one another for their sweet words. Once Akina pulled back, her eyes had changed to curiosity. "Though I wonder where Kiro is. We haven't seen him since he left with that strange white robed man."

"I know." Kaira looked slightly past the woman before her, watching as Deruku and Reku slowly walked back towards them, the sagging body draped down between the two of them, his arms loosely placed across the shoulders of the two gentlemen. "I hope he is alright. I am also wondering where Ronin ran off too."

"I…" Akina was startled for a second, thinking of the last time that they had seen Ronin in that day. Out of the corner of her eye she looked at Reku who was concentrating on bringing back the body. During the time that Ronin left, he lashed out at Reku, leveling him to the ground and then took off. "…wish I knew. When he lost a duel to Dementia, his shattered pride leaked the darkness in his heart and soul. I just had no idea he hated us that much."

"I'm sure Ronin doesn't hate you guys." Order spoke, taking a step so that she was standing right next to the woman. Reaching out, she brushed some of Akina's sandy blond hair out of her sweet, soft, shaking blue eyes. "I think though that he resents you, and Reku, and whoever else. I think he felt a bit, oh how would we say it, 'shown up' by you guys? I think he just felt a little weak, and is now on a quest to find some strength to him."

"I hope you are right." Akina bowed her head. "And I hope he does it in a productive way, not seeking out any power and becoming another problem we will have to deal with." Looking up at the red haired woman, she smiled. "It's not like we don't already have enough people and demons to deal with."

* * *

Dementia and Thoth were both standing in the room completely surprised as a wave of flames rushed over their bodies. Shifting their heads skyward, they let the flames engulf them, transporting them away from the castle, and the three helpless victims that were keeping a keen eye on them.

Nothing was left of the two demon monsters after the flames died away, only two black charred rings on the ground where the demons once stood.

"What the…?" Joe looked around the room, complete shock draining his face of its color. "Why did they just suddenly spontaneously combust and vanish? They had us on the ropes." Looking down, he saw the weak Gurabe fighting to hold onto consciousness, and next to him, Kevin still sitting in a complete daze, about ready to pass out himself. _"This is getting really strange."_ Looking back and forth between the two bodies that he was now in charge of. _"If these two lost to those monsters, what chance do any of us really stand? The good news though is that both of the duels were close, meaning that there might be a slim chance to one-up them. But how? They seem so flawless dueling. They _knew_ they were going to win from the start, and thus they did, with complete confidence and unwavering stances. Its like they can control what cards they draw from their decks."_

His eyes drifting down to the white duel disk that was strapped securely to his own left arm. Sighing, he focused on the stack of cards in the holder, taking into account every card he knew was in it.

"_I took a lot of time to rebuild this deck, so I can only hope that it has enough power to keep me alive long enough to win a duel against the likes of them."_ His eyes darting to Kevin who finally gave in to the numbness rushing through his veins, passing out where he sat upright._ "But so did Kevin. He lost as well, and couldn't even really scratch Thoth's life points." _

Yawning himself, Joe finally took into account what time of the night it was. Even though he hadn't done anything himself compared to the two others he was now watching over, he was still exhausted. Laying out both of his comrades on the golden floor, Joe stretched out himself, letting his heavy eye lids shut.

"Might as well get some rest. I don't know when I will be needed. And when I do, I need to be at full strength." Joe whispered to himself, encouraging his rest. Soon he, as well as the two others were fast asleep.

* * *

Yukio snapped his foot forward, connecting with a chunk of cement that lay on the ground before him. Racing through the air, the rock smashed against the fare wall of the abandoned subway station, dragging the attention of the other five people there towards the point of impact, where the rock shattered and fell to the ground in a rain of patters.

"So Tal, when are we going to actually get to meet this so call great leader that we are working under?" Yukio growled towards the buff man who was sitting upon a large wooden crate.

"Soon enough." Tal spoke with a thick, strong voice, but in the back of his mind he did doubt when exactly Freyr and the other two demons would show back up.

"Well 'soon enough', isn't soon enough for me!" Seki complained, her spoiled attitude making her cross her arms in a visible complaint. Sticking out her lower lip, it was obvious to the men in the chamber that as the youngest of them all so far, she was still the most immature. "I want to meet this guy I'm being forced to work for and I want to meet him NOW!" She screamed, stomping her foot on the hard ground.

"Oh shut up insolent human." A voice echoed down the corridor that leads to the outside world. Within seconds, the three demons walked into the abandoned subway station, glaring at the young human with looks of hatred. Thoth, the one who had spoke, sneering at the girl. "You will either show respect, or I will personally roast your ass and eat you whole."

The threat, as well as the monsters appearance, made Seki instantly jump back, clapping her hands over her mouth so that she wouldn't say anything else stupid and get herself killed by the tan monster.

Freyr, also not impressed with this loud noise the instant he got home, growled deep in his voice. Just before his legs gave out from under him and he fell to his knees again, catching himself from falling forward by slamming his hands into the ground before him, leaving indents in the ground. The raven black wings ruffling out behind him as they rushed through the air, barely missing his two subordinates. This is when the shredded back of the monster became visible to the entire group of people in the room. Akiaki and Seki averted their eyes from the bloody pulp on the back of the monster. Tal, Hygin and Archip rushing across the room to the aid of their fallen master.

"What happened to you?" Tal cried, sliding to a stop before the monster. Taking in the glares of the two demons on the side of the monster, he quickly threw in; "Master Freyr."

"Yeah master, what in the world did this to you?" Archip asked from his spot behind Tal. Thoth and Dementia growling slightly with the rudeness of the humans offering too many questions to their divine leader.

"That bastard Kooru tore into me while I was helplessly absorbing the crystal." Freyr responded finally, sitting up on his knees and forcing all the energy he had into focusing onto one stream of power. Using this, he folded back up his wings, letting them slowly vanished into the scared up back of the monster. Even he winced from time to time as the absorbing of the wings again was painful, sending waves of heat rushing through his body. "Dammit all!" He screamed once the wings were finally absorbed into his back, a wave of energy busting off of his body and leveling everyone in the chamber, even Thoth and Dementia.

Staggering forward, the monster made his was across the chamber with all eyes upon him, tracking his every movement. Rotating his shoulders every now and again, his face contorted with the pain pulsating from his back. He burned though with not only pain, but pure rage.

"_Make a fool of me will you Kooru. Don't think I will easily forget this, you will pay, and you will pay dearly."_ Freyr promised himself, once against collapsing to his knees on the hard pavement below him. "He's put me on the sidelines of this battle for now. I will need time to heal these wounds before we go an collect what part of the crystal I stole, or obtain the remainder of it."

"Wait." Hygin spoke, pushing himself up. "I thought you said you absorbed the crystal already, master. You mean that you haven't yet?"

"Of course not. Not even my body would last very long absorbing the crystal directly into my body in such a raw form." Freyr answered, his voice surprisingly calm for being in pain, instead, a frustrated tone was behind his words, brought on obviously by his pure grudge he was formulating.

"_Actually putting Freyr out of commission like this!"_ Tal contemplated, looking at the state the demon was in. His eyes surveyed every chunk of torn up flesh on back side of the monster. _"I underestimated these pests if they could do something like this. It would appear they have powerful allies I am not yet fully aware of. Striking in a opening could give them a serious advantage, we must stop them before they are capable of regaining momentum."_

Turning, Tal began to walk out of the abandoned subway station. Not paying any mind to the eyes that were suddenly on his back as he started to make his way up the cracked and dusty stairs to the dark, outside world.

"Where do you think you are going human?" Thoth growled, glaring up the stairs at Tal who proceeded to climb despite the threats of the monster below him.

"To continue my mission for Lord Freyr. Now that he is wounded, we cannot stop the attack on those brats. If we lose momentum, they could just as easily snatch it up and find a way to counter attack." Tal spoke as he finally reached the top of the stairs. The corridor wound to the left and then out into the dark world after another set of stairs. Stopping, Tal looked back down at the Egyptian-esque demon. "Don't worry about me, I'll keep fighting while you tend to the master."

And with that, Tal vanished around the dusty tile and rock wall.

"How in the hell can he be serving Freyr and be so completely a rebel with his own actions?" Thoth questioned, looking at Dementia. Shrugging, she could provide no real logical answer.

"He's an obedient rebel."

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CARD OF THE EPISODE

**Vampire Genesis**  
3000/2100/8/Dark/Undead  
This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by removing 1 "Vampire Lord" on your side of the field from play. Discard 1 Zombie-Type monster from your hand to the Graveyard to select and Special Summon 1 Zombie-Type monster from your Graveyard with a Level less than the discarded Zombie-Type monster. You can only use this effect once per turn.

Dementia: "Welcome darlings, this is my day to do the Card of the Episode. And of course, the one I chose it a powerful one that I used as a fall back in my duel with that walking carcass. Vampire Genesis is a upgraded version of Vampire Lord, but this time he has a powerful revival effect. Once you scrap one monster from your hand, zombie in origin mind you, than you get to special summon any one zombie with a level less than what you discarded. A whole world of revival could be open to you! And with 3000 overwhelming attack points, this monster is a force to be trifled with. Until next time darlings, mmmm keep that delicious blood of yours flowing darling."

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	16. The Underground Road to Fame

Episode 16: The Underground Road to Fame

Chime folded her arms across her chest, leaning back against the solid house behind her. Looking straight ahead of her, the morning sunlight was shining brightly all around the neighborhood, waking up the world with its warm embrace. Pleased that the warm sun could not penetrate the thick house she stood next to, Chime waited in the cool shadows while a crisp breeze blew though the morning air.

"_It's quite beautiful, and to think, I was almost on the verge of never getting to see sunlight ever again."_ Chime thought to herself, her emerald green eyes dropping down to the green wrist device that she wore on her arm. The duel disk provided for her for her services under Dartz. That was so long ago, and so was her service to him. Once her former boss had be defeated, Chime moved on to accomplishing her own sick and twisted goals. She wasn't sure why, but maybe her close encounter with death made her appreciate the value of life a little bit more. That or dueling on the underground circuit had made her appreciate fresh air.

Brushing her hand through strands of her long, light green hair, Chime tilted her head backwards to watch the white, fluffy clouds slowly rolling across the deep blue sky.

"Thanks for waiting. I'm done now." A gruff voice spoke, dragging the woman's head down suddenly with the appearance of another presence. Standing before her was Kiro, dressed once again in his black coat with the hood pulled up over his green hair. The pair of deep black sunglasses covered his red, demon eyes. Tugging a few times on the yellow work gloves on his hands, Kiro was satisfied that they were on tight. "You actually didn't need to stay away, no one is home. I have no clue where they went either. I can tell that one of them, Ronin, took off running somewhere into town, but as for the rest of them, it seems they just up and vanished."

"They were probably taken away by my mother." Chime looked off to her left side, across the empty street to the pair of houses that were their main focus of this visit. One, on the right, was Kiro's home now, and the left was Reku's and Akina's new house. Looking back, she saw that Kiro was standing there staring at her, unmoving even an inch. "Oh, sorry, I mean our mother."

Brushing it off, Kiro turn and started to walk away from the houses, Chime soon following in toe behind her brother.

"Explain to me something." Kiro spoke, slowing down his pace so that Chime was technically leading the two of them. Looking over at Kiro, she waited for him to continue to speak. "When we dueled yesterday, how come you didn't freak out at the initial sight of me? Does my appearance not shock you at all?"

"What are you talking about?" Chime cocked an eyebrow at her brother, taking a second to glance forward to see where she was walking to. "Of course it shocks me. Your demon form isn't exactly normal by any stretch of the imagination. I guess though that I didn't freak out, because, well, its not the first time I've seen you in demon form like that. After spying on you for a little while, I got used to what you looked like."

"You were spying on me? How, I didn't sense your presence at all." Chime couldn't see Kiro's confused look because of the sunglasses, but she had a good idea that he was pretty shocked to learn that a human could sneak around his back and go unnoticed.

"It's pretty easy, with the right power on my side." Chime patted the duel disk on her arm. "Sometimes I didn't even hide myself. You didn't notice me because I was nothing more than just another face in the crowd. But in more private situations where you were alone, I had to mask myself so that I could watch and not be found. As well as having to keep a distance from you."

"Magic huh?" Kiro inquired, getting a nod from his sister. "That would explain why recently I've been having really odd feelings. It was feint, but it put me on edge none the less. I passed it off as the magical energy Reku and his friends had as they were coming closer to me by that point. Moving in next door and all." Changing the subject, and the question, Kiro looked at the long haired woman he was walking with. "Why do you want to avoid them anyhow?"

"I have my reasons." Chime shook her head slightly, trying to mentally shake off Kiro's stare, but unable to do so. "I spent some time in the past with Reku and his friends. Well, I wasn't exactly what you would call the 'good guy'. So well, because of our past together, I can't really be seen by them, not yet. I have enough problems as it is without having to deal with those three again."

"I see. Speaking of problems, why is it that you need my help again? You could probably find just about anyone in the world, why are you choosing me to help you?"

"You'll find out when we get to our destination. I'll have it all explained to you."

Chime found herself suddenly stopped while in motion. It took her human brain a few moments to realize that she was no longer even touching the ground, her eyes darting downward to find Kiro holding her up with both of his hands. He had moved so fast with his powers she couldn't even see it to attempt to stop it.

"Sister or not, I don't like lies and secrets. You will still respect me, because you know I have the power to destroy you even yet." Kiro glared at the light green haired woman he held up with in his grasps. Letting go, she fell back to the earth with a start, but his grip on her still prevented her from falling down. "Spying on me all this time, and even growing up with me, and you still never have figured out I don't listen to authority very well."

"Your right." Chime spoke, slightly shaking her head. "I'm sorry brother. I don't mean to suddenly show up in your life and demand the spot of big sister. But I will find it easier to have my manager explain it to you when we get back to my chambers in the circuit. Please be patient until then."

"Manager?" Kiro cocked an eyebrow at the strange term his sister had suddenly used. "Chambers? Circuit?" Tilting his head to the side, he looked deep into his sisters emerald green eyes. "You are talking about that under ground dueling circuit aren't you?"

* * *

Reku sat up with a start, jerking his head around to take in his surroundings. He looked like a soldier scouting for enemies. He calmed down slightly when he realized that he was just in the golden chamber in Order's castle. Scratching his head with his free left arm, he looked down to his right to see Akina snuggled up next to him. The two of them setting up against a wall on the right hand side of the golden throne in the room.

"About time you woke up." A voice spoke out, snapping Reku's attention to the chair he sat next to. Over the side of the chair popped a very familiar, silver haired Gurabe. "You didn't even have to fight one of those nasty monsters and you have been sleeping the hardest of us all. Guess even though you have proven how tough you are, you're never going to be anything more than a weak human."

"Don't go blathering on about weak humans." Joe snarled, throwing an apple he held in his hand through the air and hitting the zombie right in his head. Looking up, Gurabe glared at the one who attacked him with the food bi-product. He, as well as Deruku, Order and Kevin were standing around the golden table in the room, preparing food for breakfast. "When this oh so _great_ zombie-man couldn't even beat one of those monster himself."

"And look at who didn't even bother trying." Gurabe taunted, picking up the apple that had fallen upon his lap and jumping off of the chair, heading over towards the group that stood around the table.

"Either way, I have a pounding headache from that duel still." Kevin waved his hands in the air towards the two squabbling men, trying to get their attention. "If you really wouldn't mind. Please shut up."

Everyone laughed a bit at Kevin's comment. Even Kevin chuckled a bit. Reku didn't join in the laughter though as he was busy concentrating and pushing himself up the wall. Akina was waking up slowly, but he didn't say anything to her. Once he was standing, Reku stretched out his arms and looked around the room.

"Where are Kooru, Heruru, Hebanu and Kaira?" He asked the group at the table, noticing the absence of the afore mentioned people.

"The demons are resting now, and Kaira is tending to their wounds." Order responded in her calm, tranquil voice. Reassuring Reku without saying it that the three demons were alive and getting better. "Kaira is much closer to the three of them than I knew. It wasn't coincidence that she was sucked up with you and Akina, I believe that fate brought her back to those demons. Just as fate brought her to you, and most likely the boy who these demons once harbored in."

"Kiro." Reku nodded, thinking of their new next door neighbor. "There sure was something strange with him that is for sure." Scratching his chin for a few seconds, the dark haired boy recollected the last time he had seen Kiro, leaving with that strange person in a white robe. "I wonder where he is now. Kinda wonder if he is doing alright or not."

"From what I know of Kiro." Deruku broke in, catching everyone's attention with his smooth flowing voice. "He'll be just fine. Maybe not the brightest kid I've ever see, but he isn't stupid by any stretch. He can think on his feet and avoid danger."

* * *

Kiro watched as Chime pounded on a large, dark, scratched up steel door. He couldn't sense any one's life presence on the other side of the door at all, and was about to tell her that there was no one in there when she suddenly started to speak.

"It's me: Chime."

Silence followed for quite a while, until the crackling of some kind of speaker echoed through the tiny ally way that the two of them stood in. Kiro looked around, but even with his demon eyes making the area very easy for him to see, he couldn't see any place that this hidden speaker might be.

"You are confirmed Chime, but who is the outsider with you?" A gruffer, deep voice echoed from this speaker out into the ally. Apparently there was a hidden camera somewhere as well.

"Don't worry, it's just my brother. He's fine to come in this way, he's with me."

"Brother!" The voice cried out startled. To Kiro's sensitive hearing, he heard whoever the speaker was lean back in a creaky chair and whisper 'she has a brother?' to another person in the room obviously. The two of them then laughed slightly before the man leaned forward again in the chair. "Alright, you two may enter."

A loud click ran through the iron door as some sort of lock was released. The door creaked inward slightly, and Chime pushed on it with her weight to push it back far enough for the two of them to enter. Once they were in, Kiro noticed how grimy the place really was.

It was a dimly lit, damp corridor that ran straight down into the heart of the building. Rusted pipes ran their way down the ceiling of the hallway, drops of water falling from loose joints and dripping on the stone floor. The rocks that made up the walls were cracked, and a shade of water damaged brown.

Chime, like walking into ones own house, began to stroll idly down the hallway, Kiro following behind her as she was leading the way. After a ways of walking, Kiro started to notice more and more things on the walls. A few fire extinguishers popped up here and there. Large wooden doors, all of which were shut, also became more frequent. All of them had some number and letter painted on them in a faded green color.

"The chambers for the underground duelists I presume. This is where you stay while dueling here huh?" Kiro asked his sister, looking at each of the doors while they passed them.

"More like locker rooms. Most underground duelists actually don't live down here. There are a few, but not many. Most at least are decent enough to have a house outside of this dump, even if it is just a trailer home." Chime explained, finally slowing her steps until she stopped in front of a door. Pushing down on the handle of the door, Chime pushed it open and stepped in. "This being my locker room."

"Chime?" A voice called out from inside the room as the light green haired woman passed through the gateway into her chamber. Kiro following behind her and pushing the door gently shut behind him. Looking forward, he saw two other people in the room already. "It's about time you got back. I was beginning to wonder what you were out gallivanting all night doing."

The man who was speaking was in a black business suit; his brown hair gelled over to one side of his egg shaped head, gleaming in the light of the much more lit room.. A pair of thin, oval shaped glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, also reflecting some of the light in the room as well of the polished, clean lenses. He took one look at Kiro and tilted his head to the side.

"Chime baby, don't tell me that this is the person you found to duel with you."

"Yes Tatashi, it is." Chime confirmed, making the man shake his head.

Looking past him, Chime noticed the other man in the room. He was pretty average built. He was a bit muscular, but not overly so. His hair was a blend of black, light gray, and tinted brown colors. His eyes were deep green, almost like a metallic surface painted said color. The clothing her was wearing was pretty average, down here anyways. Black shirt, with two bands of leather racing up over her shoulders and down his back. A tight fitting black leather vest covered the upper part of his torso as well. On his arm sad a Kaiba corp. standard duel disk, but it was scratched up in many places. A array of graffiti artwork adorned the sides and bottom of the device.

"But why is that man in my chambers?" She asked, pointing past Tatashi to the man.

"Mashima here is present for a specific reason. As also being his manager on the side of you, I have personally asked him to come here to be your partner in the tag duel. Since you were so hell bent against asking anyone to help you out in this, I took the liberty of arranging a partner for you." Motioning with his hand, like trying to scare off a stray animal, Tatashi shooed off Kiro. "So you can just send this reject back to wherever you found him."

Kiro growled slightly, annoyed at his treatment, but didn't say anything as his sister stepped between him and the man; Tatashi.

"Listen here, Kiro is my partner. I have chosen him, and that is final." Motioning for Kiro to step forward, Chime continued to speak while he came up beside her. "You said _I_ had to find a partner, and I did. The only person here I trust." Mimicking Tatashi, Chime shooed off the other duelist, Mashima with her hand. "So you can send that dung heap packing."

"You haven't changed one bit Chime, not one bit." Mashima finally spoke up, rubbing a rather large hand through his hair as he spoke. "I remember when you first showed up here at the underground circuit. Didn't trust a soul then either. So what makes this loser so special? He your husband?" Mashima and Tatashi both threw their head back in laughter, making a vain pop out on Chime's forehead.

"He's my brother you jerks." Chime snapped in, grabbing their attentions instantly. They both gave a blank stare at the woman, and the green haired man in the black hoodie and sunglasses standing next to her. They were a bit speechless, not sure whether to believe her or not.

"This guy…?" Mashima pointed to Kiro, smirking. "This guy who is stupid enough to wear sunglasses indoors, is your brother?" Snickering, Mashima turned his head away and tried his hardest to stifle his laughter. "And what is with the coat in this weather? I never imagined you were the sister to a complete retard!"

Mashima didn't know what hit him next. His back suddenly hurt as his eyes peeled open to see Kiro standing before him, holding him up by the collar of his shirt. Mashima had been slammed against a brick wall faster than the human eye could see.

"Care to repeat that tough guy?" Kiro asked, slightly spitting in Mashima's face with disgust. Mashima didn't say anything, just kind of glared at his attacker. He didn't even really care how he had gotten against the wall, all he knew as this arrogant punk was trying to strut his stuff, and Mashima wasn't going to stand for that!

"Yes I do." Mashima growled, snapping his own arm up and pushing Kiro's off. Once his grip was released, Mashima slowly slid down the wall until his feet rested on the cement of the chamber once again. "Want to back up those tough words of yours?" Holding up his left arm, Mashima motioned to his duel disk with his eyes. "Here's the deal. Prove your words in the arena, and we will find out which one of us is more fit to be Chime's partner for this duel that is coming up."

"That really the way you want to do this?" Kiro asked, taking a step back so that Mashima had some room to breath. "If you really are that desperate to see my power, then by all means, let's duel."

"What a wonderful idea!" Tatashi smirked at the proposal, turning to Chime who was still standing behind him. "That why we shall know who is best fit to duel with you, right Chime baby? Believe it or not, I would rather keep my best duelist around these parts. You're the reason I make money after all."

"Whatever. I'll still be dueling with Kiro." She brushed her hair out of the way, walking towards the door of the chamber. "Might as well get Kiro used to the system. Come on boys, show off in the arena. We should have it all to ourselves as the matches happen in the evenings usually."

Chime was true to her word, the arena the four people now stood in was completely empty. Chime began to walk down the stairs of the arena, leading down to a caged off platform in the center of the rising bleachers. The whole place reminded Kiro of some kind of coliseum, or dome where sporting events were played. Thought this one was a bit darker, and dirtier.

Following Chime, Tatashi and Mashima started their journey down the stairs to the caged in dueling platform. Kiro crossed his arms, pretending to not be impressed with the whole set up they were in. Slowly, he followed the three of them down the stairs.

Stopping next to Chime, Kiro watched as Tatashi and Mashima walked around the outside of the circular cage heading towards the other end of it. Kiro suddenly felt something on his left arm, and heard a loud click as whatever it was snapped tightly into place. His head snapped instantly down to see what it was, noticing that Chime was attaching some sort of large, iron shackle to his upper left arm.

"What is this?" He asked, watching as she picked up another one and walked around her brother slipping it onto his right arm and clamping it shut.

"Shock collars basically." She replied without stopping or even looking at him. "They are connected to your life points. Every time your life points drop, you'll be met with an equal amount of voltage from these things. It is how this underground circuit works."

Looking at her brother finally, she could tell that he was somewhat unsure.

"Don't worry, I'm sure because of your demon body, you'll barely feel a thing."

Kiro remained silent as she hooked the last of the bindings around his neck. Once the last once clicked into place, three red orbs lit up on the fronts of the shackles, indicating that they were now officially turned on. Chime nodded to him, reassuring him that it was ok, and motioned for him to walk through the gateway in the cage's outer wall.

Stepping in and onto the stage, Kiro was met by his opponent on the other end, smirking a devilish smile as he held out his arm. The duel disk on it sparked a few time, snapping out the arms of the device and folding them down into the dueling plate. The Duel Disk looked like it had been through the ringer and back, as well as a paint factory. Scratched up, and very dirty on its own, covered in graffiti marks. An odd hiss came from the device as the life point counter shot up to the alluded 4000 for the game.

"You don't sound so tough now, Mr. Kiro." Mashima taunted, pulling his deck of cards from his pocket and sliding them into his duel disk. Kiro remained motionless, not even surprised by the loud snapping of the locks as the gates were locked shut, trapping the two duelists in the iron cage. "Having second thoughts about being here?"

"Yeah, I am." Kiro spoke, holding up his left arm so his duel disk could activate, shooting out the pure field of light that was to be his dueling platform. "I mean, I could use this time that I am wasting here for like, a nap or something."

"You smug little ass. Draw your cards and lets get this duel over with." Mashima scowled, sliding the top five cards from his deck and fanning them out in his hand. His eyes quickly scanned over what he had drawn, pleased that he was already forming a strategy.

"Very well." Kiro said, doing the same thing with his opening five card hand.

Kiro-4000 LP  
Mashima-4000 LP

Meeting on one side of the ring, Chime and Tatashi set down on the bleachers to watch the match. Without even looking at the green haired woman that sat next to him, Tatashi began to speak.

"So you refused every duelist in the underground league so much you pulled a random guy off of the streets, posing him as your brother, and getting him to duel with you in this tag match coming up. What exactly were you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that you are just yapping about something you don't know, nor could possibly understand Tatashi." Chime, also not looking at her manager, responded. "And for the last time, he is my brother. He has always been, and always will be. And he _will_ be my partner for this tag match. End of subject."

"He'll have to beat Mashima first."

"Easily done."

"You sure, don't you remember when you first showed up here? Mashima was your first opponent. And with that random mass of cards you had for a deck, you could barely do anything in a duel." Pushing his glasses further up on his nose, Tatashi continued to speak. "And it took you months to not cry every time you took a little shock from those collars. You really think your '_brother_' is going to fair any better. You know as well as I do that these duels we hold down here are nothing like the surface duels." Looking over, he saw the blank stare on Chime's face; she sat watching the ring without moving or saying anything. Just waiting patiently for the duel to start. "Chime baby, are you even listening to me any more?"

"Yes." She finally spoke, still not looking away from the dueling field were her brother and his opponent were getting set up for their duel. _"Of course I remember when I showed up here Tatashi, do you really think I'm that stupid. I remember quite clearly."_

/Flashback/

_Chime-0 LP  
Ronin-1000 LP_

"_What!" Chime couldn't believe that this kid had just beaten her. Her vision shifted very quickly to a bright, blinding light green. Screaming, she fell to her knees with a loud thump. Grabbing her head in her hands, she squeezed it as if she was in terrible pain._

"_Your evil never would have won anyways." Ronin smirked, walking over to her, just behind the boarder of the Seal of Orichalcos that was enclosing fast around its last victim. "Now, I want my friends back. All of them."_

_The only response he got was her constant scream of pain. With a loud crashing sound, the seal locked into place around her body. A tall green pillar of light was shooting up, crashing into the ceiling of the dome. Within seconds, the light stopped, letting Chime's motionless and now silent body crash to the floor. Her duel disk created a loud thump when it hit the concert below._

_From within her robe, the circular orb rolled out. Rolling around a little bit, the orb finally coming to a stop on some bumpy cement. Hair line cracks spider webbed across its surface causing the orb to break apart in a glass shattering way. Echoing across the entire dome._

_Suddenly, everything was bright green. Warm and comforting to all._

_Chime felt her body falling, down a never ending darkness that wrapped itself around her like a blanket. She couldn't move, her limbs felt like they were severed off a the nerves, showing no reaction whatever to her demands. _

"_Is this really what it is like to be dead?" She asked herself, still falling with no hope of stopping herself in sight._

_She closed her eyes, a small smile creasing her face._

_"So Ronin, you managed to beat me. I guess I underestimated your power." Her eyes opened once more, staring at the shifting tints of the blackness above her. "Just cause I had the power of the Orichalcos on my side, I felt like I was invincible. When I guess I really wasn't. I never took into account that the power of the Orichalcos is a two way street. When I lost, my soul was also being taken, in accordance with the contract I signed when I played the seal."_

_Darkness…_

_Then to Chime's surprise, there was light in her world._

_Slowly opening her eyes, she stared up at what appeared to be a light fixture set up into the tiles of the ceiling. Sitting up slightly, she took in her surroundings with a swift motion of her head. She was obviously sitting in a hospital room, the arrangement of the curtains, the medical equipment by her and the other beds in the room, and the overall aura of the place made it obvious where she was._

_Throwing the sheets off of her, she sat up. Looking down, she saw that she had been dressed in the typical hospital attire. Sighing at how drab it looked, she pushed herself off of the bed and onto the floor, taking a second to wait for her dizzy spell to wear off._

_Moving slowly on the titled floor of the room, Chime made her way to the closet and opened it up. Sure enough, there were the belongings of her, and the two other guests in the room, which she quickly identified as her servants; Hygin and Archip. _

_Stripping herself down, she dressed herself once again in her own clothing attire. She threw the hospital gown onto the empty bed where she was once laying. She realized that she must have been brought here after her crushing defeat at the hands of Ronin. _

_"Ronin…" The situation she was in now reminded her of the defeat she had against the young man. Him, and his friends fought their hardest for their beliefs, their ideals. Was it possible that they were right and she was wrong? Had she really over reacted to the entire situation?_

_Confused and a bit angry, Chime began to gather her stuff into a plastic bag she also found in the closet. Pulling up the green Duel Disk that belonged to her, she sighed as she placed it into the bag. Her eyes stared down at the other two Duel Disks that rested in the closet._

_"I don't know if you guys were right or not, but until I figure it out, I need to be alone." Chime spoke aloud to herself, reaching down and picking up the first of the two green disks. Pulling the deck out of it, she threw the disk into the bag along with hers. Fanning open the deck, she searched through the cards until she came to a green boarded card that she instantly pulled out. The card had writing on it in some foreign language that no one could understand, but the effects and name of the card was obvious; The Seal of Orichalcos. _

_She threw the card into the bag as well, repeating the action with the other duel disk and the other Seal of Orichalcos card the other deck held. Once she was done, she swung the bag up over her shoulder and walked out of the room, leaving the two sleeping bodies in there alone. _

_She didn't know if she would ever see Hygin and Archip again, but she had to be alone for a while. That is all she needed to know.  
_

* * *

_Sighing, Chime slid the amount of cash she needed over the counter to the sales clerk at the all night convenient store. Taking her change, Chime grabbed her cup of instant noodles that was to be her dinner and strolled out of the store. Walking around to the side of the store, Chime sat down next to the bag of her belongings and began to peel open the lid on the container. _

"_Looks like we've got a good arrangement of matches to see tonight." Chime's ears picked up a conversation being held by two gentlemen as they were walking down the sidewalk in front of the store, stepping off and beginning to walk across the parking lot to the street. _

"_I know what you mean." The other man spoke, hitting his buddy on the shoulder playfully. "I've been waiting a long time for these championships. Now we will finally get to see who is really top dog as a duelist in the underground."_

_The conversation interested Chime, especially when the second man had spoken of duelists. Gathering up her belongings, she began to follow behind the two gentlemen as they walked down the street. She tried to stay a good distance behind them so as to not attract attention to herself. _

_The walk was for a few blocks when she saw the two of them step into an ally way and make their way casually down until the reached the very end of it. There they pounded on a steal door, and waited a few moments until it swung open. To Chime's surprise, a large, incredibly buff black skinned man stepped out to greet the two men. He was wearing a pair of sunglasses over his eyes, a black, skin tight tank top and a pair of blue jeans. _

_Ushering the two men inside, the black man, most likely some kind of security guard, stepped back inside and closed the door behind him. _

_Watching, Chime noticed no one else around in the area. This seemed like a pretty abandoned district of town, with closed shops and a dark, grimy feeling to it. Gulping slightly, Chime began to make her way down the ally, stopping along the way to throw the bag she had into a trash dumpster along the way for safe keeping. _

_Pulling back her hand, Chime thrust it forward in an awkward knock on the door, recoiling her hand with how strangely she had hit it. Not sure whether to knock again, Chime stood there for a moment to see what would happen. _

"_Seems like they didn't hear me." Chime realized, lifting her hand to knock again. As she was moving it towards the door, it swung open and Chime found herself face to chest with the large black man she had seen before. She hadn't realized the size of the man from all the way down the ally. _

"_What do _you_ want?" He asked, growling at the young woman who was standing before him. _

"_I…um…is there duels going on in there?" Chime sputtered, finding herself lost in a feeling of helplessness in front of the tree like man. _

"_Who wants to know?" The man asked again, looking around to see if there were any hidden cops anywhere. _

"_I was…interested to know…" Chime spit out again, noticing the man wasn't even paying attention to her any more. Reaching inside the door, he surprised Chime by pulling out a long black device that he started to wave around Chime's body. "Is that… a…" _

"_Metal detector." The man finished her sentence for her, finishing his search of her. "I have to check for bugs. We wouldn't want the cops to find out about this place. You're clean though. Now, to answer your question little girl, yes, there are duels going on in there. If you want to see them, pay the entrance fee." He said, extending his hand out to her._

"_Entrance fee?" Chime looked up at the man with a baffled look on her face. She really didn't mean to seem so stupid, but she hadn't expected anything like this. Once the fee was paid, the man ushered Chime in and shut the door behind them. _

_Chime found herself standing in a dark hallway that was about two sidewalks wide. Stepping forward, Chime leaned up against a metal railing that was set up to peer down into the room that was next to it. She had an eagle eye view of a huge dome full of bleachers, all circling around an iron cage that was smack in the center of the room. _

"_You may place bets down there." The man startled Chime, drawing her attention back to him, then to were he pointed down the left hand hallway. She saw some windows along the wall where she assumed people to be accepting bets. _

"_Alright, thanks." Chime nodded, slowly walking down the hallway. She moved past the windows until she came to a turn in the hall where there were stairs that led down into the dome below. The whole set up reminded Chime of horse racing events, or some other kind of sporting event._

_The first thing Chime noticed when she walked into the room was the screaming that was bouncing off of the walls. As well as the crackling noise that wounded like a storm of lightning. Looking down, she could see that there were two people inside of the cage, one falling over onto his face. Plume of smoke rolled off of his clothing and up through the holes in the cage._

_"Wow!" Chime exclaimed, her eye fixated on the two duelists in the cage. _

_"First time in the underground circuit huh?" A strange voice broke into her world, drawing her head towards the bleachers that she was standing next to. There, right on the end was a tall man, a pair of oval glasses on his face and his hair gelled over to look smooth. _

"_How could you tell?" Chime asked, staring down at the strange new man. _

"_Just your reaction to the duel is all. Here, have a seat." He motioned, sliding over slightly to allow her some room to sit. Acting very wary at first, Chime realized she had nothing to lose and sat down next to the man. "The name is Tatashi. Would you care to grace me with yours?" _

"_It's Chime." She replied, looking at the man who seemed to be taking a real close interest in her. "And I'm not going to be doing any of that kind of stuff with you!" She exclaimed, jumping up from the seat. _

"_No, no Chime baby, you read me all wrong." Tatashi waved his hands back and forth in front of him. "I just have this strange feeling that you are a very powerful duelist. You are a duelist right?" _

"_Yeah…" Chime was still standing, not even thinking of sitting back down next to the man until she found out what he really wanted. _

"_Well, I happen to be a manager of duelists here in this circuit. I have some of the best under my wings. It seems like you are very interested, are you looking for a chance to show off your skills?" _

"_Um…" Chime scratched her chin as she thought about it. She had come here spontaneously, just mainly out of curiosity, and now she was being offered a job. _

"_You get a good deal of the profits that come from the proceeds of whatever match you are participating in. And I take only the best of care of my duelists; you have nothing to worry about. So what do you say?" _

"_I don't know…" Chime's eyes looked around, scanning for something, anything else to look at instead of the man before her. She had been wary of dueling until she could figure out what it was that made Reku, Ronin, and Akina such powerful duelists. Until she could figure out if her resolve was all wrong. Until she could fine herself, lost in this sea of confusion. _

"_Well, do you have somewhere else to go?" Tatashi asked, getting an instant reaction from Chime. Her emerald green eyes snapped to the man, focusing intently on him. Strand of her light green hair flopped down in front of her face as she jerked her head hard enough to whip her hair around. "Come on, what do you really got to lose?" _

_/End Flashback/_

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Pot of Greed**  
Magic  
Draw 2 cards from your deck.

Chime: "Hmm…Oh, I guess I should do the Card of the Episode now. Sorry, I was spacing out there. Well, as there was nothing happening in this episode, let's go with a very standard card in almost every deck around. Let's look at this card: Pot of Greed. It lets you draw two additional cards. It thins your deck; it has no cost, no drawback, and hardly takes up space in the deck. Odd…I _wonder_ why it's in ever deck…"  
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	17. Carve Me from the Earth

Episode 17: Carve Me from the Earth

"DUEL!" Kiro and Mashima cried out, both of them swinging their arms out to the side to increase the dramatics of the situation.

Kiro-4000 LP   
Mashima-4000 LP

"I begin!" Kiro cried out, sliding the top card off of his deck and adding it to his hand. Ignoring the situation he was in, the iron cage that boxed him in, the shock collars on his body, Kiro prepared to fight this like any ordinary duel. "I start by setting one card face down on my field, and then conjuring up my Gravekeeper's Cannonholder (1400/1200) in defense mode."

Over a horizontal card in front of Kiro, an Egyptian looking man appeared, bent over on one knee and holding a redwood cannon across his chest for protection from any oncoming attacks. Smirking, the monster gazed out at Mashima, biding him to try and attack him. Behind him, a brown backed card had come into play in a ripple of light.

"I end my turn there." Kiro sneered, letting his hands fall to his side as he watched Mashima draw his card to start his turn. _"Don't get shaken, you have to teach this arrogant bastard a lesson and fast." _

"Then to start my turn," Mashima slapped down the card he had drawn, his duel disk sparking slightly as it read the data from the card, "I summon up my Clay Spear Soldier (1500/0) in attack mode."

Before Mashima popped up the orange bordered card, splashing lights came flooding out of the image to form into a large, clay molded samurai looking monster. In the monsters hands was a long spear, the tip of the blade shining with a light across its razor sharp point. As stiff and still as it was sitting, it appeared to be no more than just a clay statue of a real samurai.

"Now Clay Spear Soldier attack! Take out his Cannonholder!" Mashima whipped his arm around, sending his mighty monster into battle. With awestruck face, Kiro watched as the stature of the monster came to life, hurdling itself high into the air and flying down towards the defending monster. Twirling the spear around, the monster showed an incredible display of weapons handling as he stabbed it through the wood cannon and into the chest of the waiting warrior.

Exploding, the Gravekeeper let out a roar of pain before finally vanishing from the field. Retracting the spear, the monster hurdled back through the air until it landed flawlessly on Mashima's field, snapping the spear up to attention at its side.

"Alright, since I dealt with that problem, lets move on shall we." Mashima shrugged, unimpressed at his first accomplishment of the duel. Pulling one of the cards from his hand, he slid it into his duel disk. "I just set this once card to use later. Then I end my…"

"Trap open!" Kiro bellowed, interrupting his opponent. Slicing his arm through the air, Kiro's set card opened as a reaction to it. "This is a trap, and a monster card. Dead Spirit Zoma is now treated as a monster card, coming into play in defense mode (1800/500)." From the card image shot out a horrid purple dragon monster. Hovering out onto Kiro's field, the monster curled up in the air, hissing at his opponent. "Now, you were saying?"

"Interesting ploy." Mashima observed, nodding at the summoning of the monster. "Interesting indeed, let's see if you can actually use it though. It is your turn, I'm done with mine."

"I draw then!" Sliding his new card into his hand, Kiro snapped his arm forward to his hideous dragon monster that now rested on his field. "I switch my Zoma into attack position. Sending him into battle against that stupid Spear Soldier of yours!"

Its maw snapping wide open, the dead dragonic beast shot a blast of deep purple smog from deep within its body. Mimicking flames, the smoke engulfed the waiting soldier, slowly eroding the beast away in its toxic fumes.

Kiro-4000 LP   
Mashima-4000 LP

"Hey wait!" Kiro pointed to his opponent, his dragon monster floating down next to him. "Why did you not lose any life points from that battle?"

"My Clay Spear Soldier has a special power about him that prevents me from getting damage at all involving him. The plus side for you is that he couldn't have dealt any damage to you as well. But here is what he can do." Mashima pointed to the empty spot next to the little dragon. In those spots, blasts of light began to erupt from the cement floor. Fading, the lights revealed two miniature versions of the Clay Spear Soldier sitting motionless, their mini spears also showing off their razor sharp, metal tips. "It creates two Clay Tokens (250/250) in defense mode on your field. Don't you feel special?"

"Oh, spoiled rotten." Kiro sarcastically replied, pulling a new card from his hand and sliding it into his duel disk. "I set one more card face-down on my field, and end there." A flash of light, and his set card appeared behind his row of monsters.

Kiro's eyes darted to the two tokens that now set on his field. _"I don't trust them…"_

"Draw!" Mashima called, pleased with what he had. "I will this turn summon Clay Archer Soldier (1300/0) in attack mode!" Slapping a card from his hand down, Mashima shifted his eyes to the duel field to watch his new clay monster appear. This one was, like the last one, constructed completely out of clay. In its arm it held a large bow with an arrow already in place to be fired. Over its shoulder was slung a leather quiver with a whole batch more of arrows.

"_This guy is in an underground dueling league with monsters like this? What kind of strange joke is this guy playing on me?" _Kiro wondered, watching as the monster pulled the bow string taut.

"Archer attacks his Zoma!" Mashima bellowed, making Kiro's eyes widen as he heard his opponent call for suicide.

Releasing the bow string, the monster sent the silver tipped arrow whizzing through the air, smashing harmlessly into the nose of the dragon. Growling with annoyance, the dragon snapped its mouth open in retaliation to the attack, sending purple flames of gas rushing at the monster, destroying it instantly.

Kiro-4000 LP   
Mashima-4000 LP

"Now let me explain this one. Just like my Clay Spear Soldier, my Clay Archer Soldier also can't inflict nor give me any damage. But when he is destroyed, he gives me back one card with 'clay' in the title from my graveyard." Holding up his duel disk, Kiro watched as the Clay Spear Solder popped out. Picking it up, Mashima flipped the card over and slid it into his hand. "I set one card face-down to end." He spoke, taking another card and placing it into his Duel Disk.

"All that to take back a useless monster huh?" Kiro taunted, pulling his top card from his deck and adding it to his hand. Being cautious of the two set cards on Mashima's field, Kiro just motioned with his arm. "Go my Zoma, direct attack!"

"Open trap!" Mashima cried out, snapping his arm to the side. One of his set cards flipped up, shining a brilliant red color before blasting out a stream of chains that wrapped themselves around the spirit monster, draining is strength (1100/500). "Shadow Spell will stop your monster from moving completely, as well as drain it of 700 attack points. So it looks like you won't be touching my life this turn."

"I end then." Kiro growled, looking at his ensnared monster with rage in his eyes. But slowly, a smirk did start to creep its way across his face. _"At least this guy will be in for one hell of a surprise when he decides to destroy my Zoma." _

"Draw!" Mashima cried out, sliding his top card off his deck and examining it for a few seconds. Adding it to his hand, he pulled out another card and proceeded to slap it down onto his duel disk. The screeching noise came once again as the device struggled and whined to read the card. "I resume my offensive strategy with my Clay Spear Soldier, once again in attack mode (1500/0)."

The samurai of clay once again materialized before Mashima, holding the spear high above it as it awaited the attack call from its master.

Chime sighed, placing her head between her hands that were being propped up by their elbows against her knees. "Oh yes, I remember Mashima's dueling style now. How fun…"

"Chime baby, sarcasm is not becoming of you." Tatashi patted her on the back. "If nothing else, give Mashima credit for also being a top ranked duelist down here. His style of play thought we've seen it hundreds of time, is still fresh and unique in this circuit."

"Yeah, yeah." Chime ignored the pat on the back she was getting from her manager. "It's not like it will help him at all verse Kiro. Even if this is the move I think he's going to do, Kiro will come back and still win."

"My monster will attack your Zoma, with this quick-play spell card affecting it!" Mashima announced, his clay monster already charging across the field at full force. "Shrink will be cutting its attack power down by half."

The charging soldier began to glow in a blue light, growing smaller without it's noticing. Once it reached about half of its original size, it stopped shrinking, but not charging as it ran right up to the chained dragon zombie, jumping high into the air and stabbing at the beast with its spear. (750/0)

"Why do that!" Kiro exclaimed, watching as the clay monster was instantly smashed, and once again, Mashima losing absolutely no life from it. In Kiro's final two monster card zones, two more mini tokens of the suicidal samurai of clay were placed (250/250). "And why are you giving me so many monsters?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions. Especially about what is going on. Don't you see my strategy at all?" Waving his hand playfully at Kiro, Mashima snickered. "And you call yourself a duelist. Just watch this, and I'll show you something. _This_ is how you duel: Trap card open; Just Desserts!"

Flipping up, the purple bordered card with a large shadowed out gorilla began to spit out clear rays of light, twisting with some kind of blood red aura. The auras smashed into the five monsters that were sitting on Kiro's field, blasting right through them and smashing against Kiro's chest, twisting together like a mini-tornado.

"Just Desserts deals you 500 points of damage for every monster you have on your field." Sticking his pinky into his right ear, Mashima looked away from his opponent who was unaware or ready for what came next. "And now the fun begins…"

"Fun…what?" Kiro watched his opponent dumbfounded until he felt a tingle running down his arms and spine.

Kiro-1500 LP   
Mashima-4000 LP

Kiro screamed out in pain, electrical currents racing through his blood stream from the shackles he had forgotten all about still strapped to him. Black lightning bolts shot out from the glowing red orbs on the devices, crackling through the air all around him. One stray lightning bolt whipped back, smashing into the bottom of Kiro's sunglasses. A blast of light raced up them in no particular line, indicating the cracks that had now appeared on the frames and lenses.

Slowly, piece by piece, the glasses began to fall apart, smashing against the floor.

"Ah, did I break little babies shades?" Mashima smirked, pulling his finger out of his ear and watching as Kiro recovered from the electrical shock. Deep in his mind, Mashima was actually impressed though. _"Most new comers can't stand up through even 100 point electrical shock. A good 2500 point one would have leveled most, if not everyone else who steps into this type of duel. Not bad Mr. Kiro, you have finally earned some respect from me." _

"Oh, payback is more than deserved then." Kiro looked up, his eyes opening wide to glare at his opponent. Instantly seeing his inhuman eyes, Mashima shrank back a couple of steps to the edge of the small rising that was the dueling stage.

"What are you?" He asked, shaking his arm at Kiro.

"Incredibly pissed at the moment. My turn, draw!" Kiro slashed the top card off of his deck, observing what he had drawn.

"Um, Chime baby, what exactly is your brother again?" Tatashi leaned forward, looking at the green haired woman who still sat with her head between her hands. "You never mentioned he is a freak."

"He's not a freak." Chime smiled stupidly. "He's a Rinku alright. That much is for sure."

"Magic card go: Ancient Ying-Yang Clock!" Kiro slid the card into his duel disk, the image of said card appeared before him in holographic form. "This card destroys all face-up magic or tap cards. Thus removing your Shadow Spell from my monster." Kiro announced as the chains that bound his monster vanished completely, a wisp of smoke coming off of his beast as it stretched out, regaining its power. (1800/500) "We also each get to draw one card, as one magic or trap card was destroyed."

Nodding slowly, Mashima acknowledged the fact that he had heard Kiro. Slowly he pulled the top card from his deck and added it to his hand. Kiro did the same, adding his new card to his hand.

"I now shift those four tokens into attack mode!" Kiro announced, the four clay token monsters standing upright. Flakes of clay fell off of the monsters as they moved, littering the ground around the monsters feet. "And send my battalion of monsters in to attack!"

"What!" Mashima was wide eyed as the five monsters ganged up on him at once, physically pushing him backwards in the ring. Then, the electroshock came, ripping through his body. He didn't scream however, just gritted his teeth, very used to the pain inflicted by the shockers.

Kiro-1500 LP   
Mashima-1200 LP

"I end my turn with that." Kiro smirked, the five monsters returning to his field and preparing themselves for the next round of battle.

"Then I guess it's my turn…freak." Mashima shook off from the attack, drew his next card and added it to his hand. "I start by summoning my Clay Defending Soldier (0/2200) in defense mode." With a shower of lights, a clay samurai appeared before Mashima, this one holding a large, very thick shield before itself as protection. "I shall also set this card face-down. Finishing off my move."

"Hiding behind a defensive wall huh?" Kiro smirked, drawing a card from his deck and snapping it around so he could see the face of it. Smirking, he looked back up at Mashima who sharnk back slightly each time Kiro's demonic eyes made contact with him. "Let me guess, battle damage done to and from your Defender is also negated?"

"…um…yes." Mashima nodded, his eyes staring past Kiro at some point off in the distance, thus avoiding eye contact with the strange monster he was dueling with.

"Figured so." Kiro took the card he was holding and placed it into his duel disk. The card image rippled into play before him. "I set another card face-down on my field. And activate my set card!" Pointing to the other card next to his new one, Kiro forced the cards activation. "Windstorm of Etaqua changes the positions of all face-up monsters on your side of the field. That includes you now completely defenseless Clay Defending Soldier. How ironic."

"Oh just shove it, you haven't gotten that far yet." Mashima whipped his arm around, activating his own set card. "Counter go! Clay Shield will negate the effect of your little trap card at the cost of my next draw phase, as well as me removing two monsters with Clay in their names from my graveyard." Mashima's graveyard began to hiss, clanking slightly as the rusted gears turned. Grabbing the two cards his graveyard spit out, Clay Spear Soldier and Clay Archer Soldier, Mashima watched as a large clay like barrier began to form around Kiro's trap card, completely crumpling it under its weight.

"Fine." Kiro pouted, slashing his arm through the air. "I switch the four clay tokens into defense mode and end my turn."

"Oh what fun. It's my turn, but as per the rules of my Clay Shield trap card, I cannot draw this turn, instead I'll just be mass swarming" Picking up his monster card, Mashima slapped down another card from his hand in its place. "I sacrifice my Clay Defending Soldier in order to summon Clay General of Ice (1900/1900)!"

A gust of artic wind spurted up in a pillar of blue air in front of Mashima. The monster that emerged from the pillar of ice was a small clay carven warrior once again. This one decorated out in multiple spikes jutting out through the shoulder and knee plates of the monster. In the hands of the soldier were two, small wavy daggers, the blades seeming to be made entirely out of ice. Upon the face of the clay monster was strapped a yellow mask, like one you might find in a theater. The face on the mask was carved to be in a huge grin, giving off a happy aura.

"Effect go! My Clay Defending Soldier's power activates, giving me the ability to special summon one monster with 'clay' in its title from my deck, but only when its sent to the graveyard." Sliding his hand down the side of his deck, Mashima slid out a card from deep in the middle of his deck. Holding it up, he smiled at its face and slapped it down onto his duel disk. "My choice; Clay General of Mountain (2100/2100)!"

The monster that appeared next to the first Clay General was a much bigger monster. This clay carven monster was broad shouldered, carrying a whole arsenal of weapons upon its back. Thick armor made out of clay stuck to his body, and his distinguishing feature was a yellow mask strapped to his face, this one like the face of a laughing man frozen in time.

"My Generals are much more powerful then you could imagine." Mashima smirked, pointing to one of the Clay Token monsters that were still sitting on Kiro's field. "Attack my General of Mountain; destroy one of his clay tokens now!"

Reaching out with a bulky hand, the monster grabbed a hold of the frail monster, crushing it instantly into tiny little pieces of clay that littered Kiro's dueling field even more.

Laughing, Tatashi smacked Chime playfully across the back. "See? I told you Mashima was powerful enough to be your partner. Wouldn't you want that kind of strategy on your side?"

"Nope." Chime shook her head, still not taking her eyes off of the dueling field. "Mashima's Clay Generals maybe be powerful, negating only the battle damage inflicted to the owner of the card rather than all damage inflicted at all, but that doesn't mean that he will win."

"Quick-play spell activate!" Mashima slid one of the two cards from his hand, sliding it into his Duel Disk. "Mystik Wok allows me to sacrifice one monster on my field, my Clay General of the Mountain, and gain life points equal to either its attack or defense points. Which in this case, really doesn't matter. I'll be gaining 2100 life points no matter what."

Vanishing into thin air, the monster's particles floating back into the card image of the Mystik Wok magic card. Glowing brightly, the card increased Mashima's life points by the amount specified.

Kiro-1500 LP  
Mashima-3300 LP

"Now I am free to attack Zoma, go my Clay General of Ice!" Snapping up the two ice-like daggers in its hands, the clay monster proceeded to charge across the field, slashing the daggers across its body and through the dragon's tiny body. "And yes, I am well aware of the effect damage I am going to be taking due to the effect of Zoma." Mashima nodded, acknowledging the purple smoke that blasted from the monsters destruction, wrapping itself around his body.

Kiro-1400 LP  
Mashima-1400 LP

Both players grunted slightly as the electric shock raced from the black clamps that ensnared the duelists. The black lightning zapping out, crackling through the air around the two duelists.

"So now we are tied." Mashima noticed, looking down at his piece of artwork Duel Disk. Looking up, he smiled. "I have to say Kiro, despite you being somewhat freaky, I am sorry I said such bad things about you before the duel. You aren't that bad at all. Well, as a duelist anyways."

"I s'pose you aren't bad either." Kiro looked away, a bit annoyed that he was returning the compliment. "But that doesn't mean that you are off the hook just yet. I'm still going to be beating your ass in. Are you done yet?"

"Yup, take your move then." Mashima nodded, watching as Kiro happily slid the top card from his deck and added it to his hand.

"I normal summon my Gravekeeper's Spear Solder (1500/1000) in attack mode!" Kiro bellowed, the Egyptian spear wielding monster appearing on his field in a shower of lights. Snapping its razor sharp spear, the monster stood proudly next to the three mini monsters, all also sporting spears. "And I activate the magic card; Gravekeeper's Muscle Burst! This magic card will double the attack points of my Spear Solder for a turn, thus making him an offensive behemoth!"

Roaring, the Egyptian monster began to glow in a faint aura. Through the black material that made up the clothing of the monster, the muscles of the monster began to bulge out and stretch the fabric. (3000/1000)

"Attack!" Kiro order, "Take out his Clay General of Ice!" Without a second of hesitation, the newly summoned monster, jumped high into the air. Twisting slightly, he found himself at the top of the cage with his feet pressed against the iron bars there. Thrusting forward, the monster launched himself downward, snapping the spear out and running it straight through the clay monster.

Kiro-1400 LP  
Mashima-1400 LP

"My General's special power kicks in. Preventing all battle damaging involving it to my life points. Thus I am spared, and you wasted your power up card."

"Not wasted." Kiro smirked, his monster landing back in its place on his field. "I got rid of that oversized paper weight. That is all that matters. I will set one card face-down and I end my turn with that. (1500/1000)"

"Still smug though." Mashima shook his head, sliding the top card from his deck and adding it to his hand. "About time I taught you your manners. By removing from my graveyard from play one of my Clay Generals, I get to special summon this behemoth of a monster! Come forth; Clay Dragon General!"

Grabbing the card spit out by his Duel Disk, Mashima held up the Clay General of Ice. The card began glowing, sending a ray of light up to meet a massive figure of light that was being formed above Mashima.

The monster the emerged from the terrible formation of light was a large, clay brown dragon carved monster. The animate hunk of clay roared once with its appearance, startling Chime and Tatashi. Kiro however remained still, staring down his new foe.

The monster was made entirely out of clay, like normal. The monster had large wings that flapped every now and again while the monster lowered itself to the dueling field below, slithering out its long tail behind Mashima and around the dueling stage. The monster had razor sharp spikes jutting out from ice blue armor that adorned the monster. In the center of the dragon's chest was the smiley face mask that had been on Mashima's Clay General of Ice. Kiro also notice three other yellow masks on the dragon's body. On its left shoulder was a mask with a laughing face. On its right shoulder was a yellow mask that was carved to look very angry. And on the dragon's forehead was the last yellow mask, which looked to be a sad face.

(Clay Dragon General 2800/2800)

"Now you are in for it! Fear this monster with all you are worth Kiro. Clay Dragon General, end this game. Attack his Gravekeeper's' Spear Solder now!"

"Not so fast!" Kiro snapped his arm out to the side. "This duel hasn't been won by you yet!" Watching, Kiro hopped his trap card could get off in time. The massive monster opened its mouth, sending a mass of ice blue flames ripping pasted its clay lips, racing towards Kiro's monster. "Shift go! Move the attack of his monster to a defending Clay Token!"

Changing course ever so slightly, the flames of ice wrapped themselves around the defending clay monster, destroying it instantly.

"You think you are getting off so easy?" Mashima smirked, pulling the top card off of his deck and adding it to his hand. "You see, when my Clay General of Mountain is in the graveyard when a token monster is destroyed, I am able to draw one new card from my deck and add it to my hand."

Roaring, the clay dragon was annoyed that it had missed its target. Opening its mouth once again, it formed a ball of icy blue flames between its clay carven teeth, acting as if it were preparing to attack again.

"You see. My Clay Dragon General gains a special power depending on what monster I put into it. Since I sacrificed my Clay General of Ice from my grave, my dragon now has the power to attack twice. It was a nice try though, protecting yourself and all." Snapping his arm out, Mashima prepared to deliver the final blow. "Attack!"

"What?" Kiro's demonic red eyes widened as the massive monster sent a stream of ice like first from its mouth racing across the field. Snapping his arm down, Kiro used up the last of his resources on the field by activating his set card now. "Negate attack, save my life points!" He cried out, the set card activating.

The flames vanished into a swirling vortex, inches in front of the spear wielding Egyptian monster. Growling, the dragon recoiled back, having used up all of its attack this turn anyways.

"You got lucky. But next time you won't be as such." Mashima waved his arm across his body. "I end my turn."

"Giving me the last turn I need." Kiro praised his fortune, drawing the top card of his deck and adding it to his hand. His red eyes gazed over the five cards he now held, preparing for this turn. "Alright, here we go. I sacrifice my three monsters; Gravekeeper's Spear Solder and your two token monsters in order to call out my great dragon monster!"

What arose on Kiro's field was indeed a dragon of equal, if not greater stature that the monster that was currently on the opponent's field. Its scales were pitch black, with streaks of navy blue and ruby red forming some kind of ancient writing burned into its skin. Its head was draconic, sharpening out at the tip of its nose to a perfect point and a ways off the back of the head where it formed devil horns. Its eyes were yellow lined, with angry, slotted eyes in them. Its long, serpent like body was being held up on a pair of snow white wings, sending off a ghastly fog as the flapped to keep the monster afloat.

"Meet Abysmal Catacomb Dragon (3500/3500)!" Kiro cried out, snapping his arm forward. "Now his effect doesn't matter right now, its just going to blast the living hell out of that thing you call a dragon. Go! Abysmal Flames!"

Snapping open its maw, the newly summoned dragon, sent waves of flames gushing from its mouth, engulfing the clay monster whole, shattering it to pieces instantly with in the intense rush of fire.

"Well, like all my clay cards, my Clay Dragon General keeps my life points protected by its special power." Mashima boasted, not at all affected by the fact his large dragon was just destroyed. "You gave a pretty good effort, but it looks like that is all you can do this turn. Now prepare yourself for my comeback."

"Comeback?" Kiro cocked an eye brow, pulling one of the cards from his hand out and sliding it into his duel disk. "Didn't I say that this was the final turn? Magic card go! Surprise Attack from the Darkness. This card gives me one more battle phase after my end phase. So prepare yourself." Kiro snapped his arm out. "I end my turn, and my dragon ends this duel. Go! Direct attack!"

Mashima watched wide eyed as the large black dragon sent out red hot flames from within its mouth once again, this time completely engulfing his body whole. He was thrown violently back against the iron cage walls, the electro shock he was receiving was at a suddenly higher voltage. Penalty volts for losing, as well as touching the iron bars of the cage. Shaking violently in the air for a second, Mashima's limp body fell to the floor in a heap.

Kiro-1400 LP  
Mashima-0 LP

"And that would be how we play this game." Kiro smirked, turning and stepping down off of the circular stage. Meeting his sister at the gate, she jumped into his arms, giving him a big old huge to congratulate him for his victory.

"I had total faith in your dueling abilities brother." She smiled, pushing back from him. Looking at his demonic eyes, she actually felt a bit more secure than scared. "I knew that you would beat Mashima, thought I do have to admit that once he clogged your field up, I had doubts. That is usually where most duelists fail against him."

"It was easy." Kiro shook his head. "Now, would you like to fill me in on what exactly am I doing here? You all keep mentioning a partner for a tag duel that needs to be fought. So why are you dueling in a tag duel?"

"It's kind of complicated." Chime spoke, starting to unhook the shackles on Kiro's arms with the key needed to open the locks. "I've been such a top ranked duelist down here for so long, that the owner of this circuit is growing suspicious or something like that. So he's bringing in two incredibly powerful duelists to face me. But I need a partner in order to duel with them." Looking past Kiro, Chime saw Tatashi unhooking the shockers from around Mashima's unconscious body. "Not like I trust any of the slime down here. I wouldn't duel with them to save my life."

"And you didn't refuse the duel because?" Kiro glared, stopping Chime in mid motion.

"…because…" Chime adverted her eyes, slowly pulling the first shocker off of her brother. "If I do, or if I lose, I owe the league an amount of money equal to the amount I have gotten in winnings from my duel. If I don't pay, then I die."

"So you play by their rules…" Kiro growled, making his sister step back slightly. "Let me guess, you can't run away because they have professional trackers who will seek you out and kill you anyways."

"Yes." Chime nodded bashfully. "Kiro, this is my only source of income. I have no money saved back anywhere! I really need your help. Duel with me, and this whole mess can be put in the past!"

* * *

Usami and Sachiko's heads snapped up as the front door to her house snapped open. Standing up from their breakfasts', the two women rushed out of the kitchen and through the living room just in time to catch a rather wobbly Ryokurio as he made his way in through the front door.

"Brother!" Usami cried, giving a huge hug to him. Her arms wrapped around him so tightly that she threatened to squeeze the air right out of his lungs. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"I'm fine sis, I really am." Ryokurio patted his sister on the back, getting her to release her bear like grip on him.

Moving forward slightly, the three of them awkwardly found a seat on one of the couches in the living room. They were all quiet for a time being, Ryokurio catching his breath before he continued to answer the questions given to him by his sister. Looking up, he looked back and forth at the two women that surrounded him.

"Well, I found Ronin. Needless to say, there was a problem with him."

"Oh, what's his problem now?" Sachiko growled, crossing her arms and listening intently to Ryokurio. "This should be good. Real good."

"I don't know why," Ryokurio looked deep into Sachiko's eyes, making her feel a twinge of guilt for what she had just said, "but Ronin seems to have gone off the edge. He seeks power and dominance over others. Especially Reku. As far as I can tell, he just feels overwhelmed by everyone, and doesn't feel good enough to 'stack-up to the competition'." Finally breaking his lock on Sachiko, he turned to look at his sister, who was also listening intently to what her brother had to say. "He feels shut out I guess, and is out to prove his power. And he has a new, very powerful deck to prove it with."

"Powerful deck?" Sachiko asked, getting the silver haired man to shift his gaze to her again. Adverting her eyes, she acted like it really didn't interest her, but was a question that needed to be asked.

"Yeah, incredibly powerful." Noticing the action, Ryokurio smirked slightly at breaking the bitchy attitude Sachiko had taken towards Ronin. Though he didn't say anything on the subject, he just continued to talk about Ronin's new deck. "His deck feels as if it's sucking on the darkness Ronin has inside of himself. His cold heart is feeding his cards power, and that made him completely invincible in our duel. I couldn't lay a scratch on his life points."

"You couldn't!" Sachiko couldn't help it this time, looking back up at him. _"Ryokurio is no pushover duelist. He's never been one to not deal some kind of damage in a duel. He has great strategies and an awesome deck, but to go into a duel and not even do any damage…that's not right. It almost sounds as if Ryokurio is scared of Ronin's new deck. Is it really that powerful?"_ In her surprise, Sachiko didn't even realize that her mouth was hanging agape. Slowly shaking herself to her senses she closed her lips tight, coughing slightly and turning her gaze away.

"Sachiko." Ryokurio spoke softly, putting his hand on her shoulder. When her head tilted back up to look at him, he smiled reassuringly. "I know that you and Ronin have had a bit of a problem in the past, but I think he needs you to talk to him. He feels betrayed by his other two closest friends, and you were his friend for a long time as well. Closer than I was to him. Could to talk to him, maybe reason with him?"

"I…really would rather not…" Sachiko shook her head. "It's…not…really my place to say anything to him."

"But you want to?" Usami broke in, leaning over her brother's shoulder. "It's obvious by the way you're hesitating so much. Just go and talk to him, maybe calm him down."

"Alright." Sachiko nodded slightly, standing up from the couch. "Fine, I'll talk to him. I won't guarantee thought that it'll be a very pretty conversation. Do you know where he is?" She asked, looking back down at Ryokurio, who shook his head disappointedly.

"Sadly, he took off after our duel and I don't know where he has gone." Then an idea dawned on him, scratching his chin, he thought it through. "He did say he was going to prove to Reku that he was more powerful now. And that he would never have to be in Reku's shadow ever again. If I had to guess where he is, I bet he's hunting down Reku at the present moment. Akina too. So I'd maybe start there, at their house."

"Okay then." Sachiko nodded, walking towards the front door and pulling it open. Stepping out, she stopped in mid stride and looked back at the two siblings on the couch. "I'll be back shortly, whether he is there or not." And with that she stepped out of the house, shutting the door behind her as she went. When the door latched, she leaned back against it and looked up at the early morning sky. She smiled slightly, taking in the cloudless blue pallet that stretch out before her. "Maybe…" She began to speak again, watching as a flock of birds rushed through the air. "…its time to make amends…"

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Abysmal Catacomb Dragon**  
3500/3500/9/Dragon/Dark  
If this card is tribute summoned by sacrificing three monsters, flip all face down monsters on the field face up (Flip Effects not activated). Destroy all monsters on the field with less defense points than attack points. If the attack and defense are equal, the monster is not destroyed.

Kiro: "It's too bad I didn't get the effect of this thing off in my duel with Mashima. This thing has a nasty field clearing effect, destroying all face-up monsters with a defense lower than their attacks. And getting monsters face-up is no chore either, as he also flips everything up when he is summoned. This also negates any possible flip effects that are there. Overwhelmingly at 3500 offensive and defensive points, this monster can deal a hell of a lot of damage if pulled off at the right time."

A/N: Mashima's 'Clay' cards are not mine. I was graciously allowed to use them by their original creator; Vyser Dragoon. Thanks a lot Vyser for your creations, as it made for an interesting duel!

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	18. Clash of the Hearts Once United!

Episode 18: Clash of the Hearts Once United!

"Damn you Reku!" Ronin screamed slamming the door of the house shut as he stormed out. "Where the hell do you think you are!" Scanning the yard before him, Ronin recalled the last moments he had seen Reku. Rushing from this house, Reku seemed to be stopped by people who seemed very familiar to him. One of them stopped him later; Tal, and gave him the deck he was now playing with.

"Running away from me are you!" He screamed off into the sky, slamming his fist into the side of the house next to the front door. "You coward, get back out here and fight me this instant!"

The trees that lined the side of the property line of Reku's and Akina's house shook, birds flocking from the leaves with the sudden sound racing into their early morning worlds. Racing off into the blue sky, the birds soon vanished from Ronin's sight, leaving a twisted smile on his face.

"Even stupid animals know to fear me." Bringing his hand back to his side, he let his head drop back down to the yard that lay before him. He didn't even acknowledge the pain that was throbbing from the backside of his now red hand. Jumping off of the stone steps, Ronin started to walk away from the house, not looking back. _"I will return. You can't hide from me forever."_

He stopped, looking down the street to where his black car was sitting against the curb. No life had touched it since he had arrived here yesterday morning. Turning, he started to walk towards it, reaching out and pulling up the handle to the passenger side door when he arrived. The seat was completely empty, all of his stuff had been thrown into the back seat when he offered to give that girl; Kaira a ride.

"Home sweet home." He mumbled to himself, stepping back and slamming the car door shut. Looking up, he saw a shiny silver car racing down the street, popping a U-turn right in front of him and parking right behind his black car. The driver side door swung open and out stormed a very angry Sachiko, glaring at Ronin as she moved around the car to stand on the sidewalk facing him.

"So you were here after all." She hollered, unable to scare Ronin into flinching even slightly. Seeing as her attempts at being frightening were unsuccessful, she turned her voice down, taking on a nicer tone. "So Ronin, what is going on with you? I heard a lot from Ryokurio, but might as well get it from the horse's mouth. You want to talk?"

"Why would I talk to you?" Ronin asked, his voice a thunderstorm of anger. "If I recall correctly, you don't ever wish to talk to me again."

"Ronin, don't do this." Sachiko groaned, sliding her hand down her brow. "I'm trying to be nice here, can't you just act civilized for once. Grow up and talk to me."

"Grow up huh?" Ronin cocked and eyebrow, lifting up his left arm with his duel disk lighting up. "You think your more powerful then me as well? Want to order me around again?" Snapping into place, his dueling device took on the life needed to become the playing field for the duel. Beeping with its typical functions, the life point counter of the emerald green device counted their way up to 4000. "Then come on. Force me into submission."

"What!" Sachiko's eyes were wide with surprise at the sudden challenge. "I'm not going to duel you. Put that thing down and just tell me what in hell the matter with you is. This seems to have gotten way out of hand." Sachiko stepped forward in a metaphorical way of saying that she had put her foot down.

"Either prove your worth, or worthlessness as the case may be, or get the hell out of my sight and quit your bitching."

"Ronin!" Sachiko screamed, reaching out and clamping her hands on the shoulders of the man before her. "You are acting like a child. You never talked to me or any other human like that before. This isn't you, what happened?"

"You have until the count of three…" Ronin glared into Sachiko's eyes, unfazed by the pleas of the woman before him. He could see that the last statement he made shoved the last of her patience with him out the door. Her face contorted with anger and she stormed back to her car.

"Fine Ronin, you want to play this childish game, I'll play!" Sachiko ripped open her back door. Reaching in, she produced a white standard duel disk. In her other hand she had a plastic deck case where her cards were obviously being contained. Sliding the duel disk on her arm, she opened the case and revealed her deck. Slamming the door shut, she walked back up to Ronin. "I may not be the world's greatest duelist, but if this is the way you want to do things, than I have no choice."

"About time you opened your eyes." Ronin pulled out the deck of cards housed within his disk, giving it a quick shuffle to mix the cards around. He watched as Sachiko also shuffled her deck, sliding it into her duel disk when she was finished.

"Whatever. You just have to promise me that if I win this duel, you will calm down, and talk to me like a sane human being." Sachiko conditioned, listening to her duel disk charge up and set the life point gauge to the standard 4000.

"Yeah, yeah, _if_ you win." Ronin rolled his eyes, sliding the top five cards off of his deck and fanning them out before his eyes. "I think I'll be kind and let you have first move of this game. Make it worthwhile so I don't go to sleep on you, okay?"

"Sure thing." Sachiko also rolled her eyes, walking off of the sidewalk and onto Reku's and Akina's front lawn so that they had more space to duel. Following, Ronin lined up across from her.

"DUEL!"

Sachiko-4000 LP   
Ronin-4000 LP

Sachiko snatched the top card from her deck, adding it to her starting hand of five cards she had drawn a moment before. Without too much hesitation, she grabbed one of the cards and slapped it down on her duel disk.

"My opening move is Beaver Warrior (1200/1500), attack mode!" A humming sound raced through the air as the card was scanned by the dueling device. Moments later, a hologram of the card flashed into existence before her, producing a shower of lights that resulted in the creation of a purple furred biped monster, clad in light blue armor. Landing on the soft grass, the monster howled with its squeaky voice as it appeared. It snapped its little dagger like sword across its mini shield and out to its side, ready to attack.

Behind the newly summoned monster, two brown backed cards appeared in a refraction of lights.

"I set two cards face down on my field, ending my first turn." Sachiko declared, watching the stone faced Ronin examine her play. _"The last Ronin knew, I was just a growing duelist. They all had been teaching me to play, but not on a very great scale. In the past couple of years I've been practicing and getting better. I don't think Ronin knows that just yet, but he'll find out the hard way. What an ace up my sleeve I have."_ Sachiko laughed to herself, pleased with the surprise she had in store for Ronin. She just hoped that it would be enough to catch him off guard.

"My turn, draw!" Ronin cried out, sliding the top card off of his deck and flipping it over so that the face of the card was revealed to him. His eyes widened slightly before closing, using that energy to generate a dark smirk across his face. "Sachiko, I will prove to you right now that I do not fear you or your dueling skills. You, as well as everyone, will crumble before me. And I shall prove it."

"Oh and how will you do that?" Sachiko had to ask, watching as the pleased Ronin pulled a new card from his hand and slid it into his duel disk.

"Dream of the Ensured. A magic card that allows me to remove from the game one card in my hand. Once I do, I then draw two new cards from my deck and show them to you. For every monster I've draw with seven or more stars, I gain 300 life points. Now to show you the card I will remove." Flipping over the card the he had drawn to start the turn on, he watched as Sachiko grew extremely surprised at the sight of the card. "I will remove my: Sapphire Crystal from the game."

"Why?" Sachiko shook her head, not wanting to believe the sight she was seeing. No sane duelist would willingly throw away their best card with no hope of returning it. _"Ronin, you have really lost it!" _ She screamed in her head as she watched him draw the top two cards from his deck. Smirking, he flipped them over for her to see.

"The two cards I've drawn are Levia-Dragon - Daedalus, a level seven monster, and Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon, a level eight monster. What luck I am having today, because due to the effect on my Dream of the Ensured, I get 600 new life points."

Sachiko-4000 LP   
Ronin-4600 LP

"And next," Ronin continued, sliding the two cards into his hand and producing another card that he instantly slapped down on his duel disk, "I summon Aqua Fighter (1500/1200) in attack mode!"

In front of Ronin appeared a large, blue skinned monster with incredibly rough looking skin. The monster had oversized forearms, which it clanked together in an attempt to strike fear into the opponents. Its face was a blank slate save the two beady eyes that stared out at the world beyond.

"I'm sure you remember this monster, any time he destroys a monster in battle I get to draw a card." Ronin announced, snapping his arm forward. "Attack now! Destroy Beaver Warrior with your Aqua Smashing Fist!" Nodding, the Aqua Fighter launched itself into the air on its stubby legs, winding back its right arm, is hand in a fist, as it prepared to strike the monster before it.

"No you don't." Sachiko cried out, slicing her arm through the air. "Trap card go! Reinforcements allows me to add 500 additional attack points to one of my monsters; Beaver Warrior in this case." Sachiko smiled, watching as her little sword wielding monster began to glow, gaining strength (1700/1500).

"Quick-play spell activate." Ronin spoke calmly, but quick in his pace as to keep up with the battle before him. "Trap Booster allows me to discard one card from my hand. In return; I am allowed to activate one trap card from my hand. I choose this one: Trap Jammer!" Sliding the card into his duel disk, Ronin's counter trap appeared before him, glowing in a pale blue light. Blasting out from the card image, the blue aura was forced to collide smack dab into the chest of the young monster, causing the power boost to instantly fade (1200/1500).

The blue skinned behemoth raced down at incredible force, smashing its fist into the head of the monster, causing it to recoil down and smash into the soft earth. Screaming in pain, the monster broke apart into tiny data bits that floated around the arena.

Sachiko-3700 LP  
Ronin-4600 LP

"Now my effects kick in." Ronin smirked, pulling out on of the cards in his hand. "Trap Booster caused me to discard a card from my hand, so I shall discard my Daedalus to the graveyard." Taking the said card, Ronin placed it into his graveyard slot. From there, his hand moved to the stack of cards that was his deck. "And because my Aqua Fighter destroyed Beaver Warrior, I draw a new card."

"Trap card open!" Sachiko slashed her arm diagonal to the other set card she had set. "Soul Rope costs me 1000 life points if a monster is destroyed, but in return, I may special summon a level four monster from my deck to the field." Pulling out her deck, Sachiko fanned it open and grabbed one of the cards she saw. Nodding, she pulled it out and slapped it down on her duel disk. "In defense mode I special summon; Mystic Tiger (1400/1000)."

Sachiko-2700 LP   
Ronin-4600 LP

A large orange and black tiger appeared before Sachiko, crouching down against the horizontal card that was below it. Growling, the monster's massive, pearly white fangs became visible inside its deadly mouth.

"You wasted 1000 life points for a 1400 vanilla monster…" Ronin shook his head disappointedly. "And why again was I hoping you would provide more of a challenge. Oh well. I set this card face-down and end my turn." Ronin announced, sliding the card that he had drawn into his duel disk. Behind the Aqua Fighter appeared the brown backed card that was supposed to act as a shield.

"You'll see his importance soon enough." Sachiko smirked, pleased that Ronin didn't catch on to her plan, or if he did, he wasn't showing it. Snapping the top card from her deck, she looked at the card image for a second before adding it to her hand. Pulling out another card, she instantly played it. "Magic card activate: Survival in the Wild. This magic card allows me to select one face-up Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged Beast type of monster. When I do, I gain life points equal to the monsters star level times 200."

Sachiko-3500 LP   
Ronin-4600 LP

"My Mystic Tiger has four stars, so I gain 800 life points from him alone." Sachiko smirked, sliding the magic card into her graveyard after its activation. Picking up her normal tiger monster, she slid it into her graveyard as well. "And now I sacrifice Mystic Tiger in order to summon Beautiful Rain Bird in attack mode (1700/1200)!"

A gorgeous multi-colored bird soared out onto the field, flying in a large circle over Sachiko's head. A trail of rainbow colored dust fell from the long strands that were the monsters tail feathers, as well as from the large feathered wings that flapped to keep the bird airborne.

"My Rain Bird has a special power. When it's summoned, I get to activate one magic card in my graveyard instantly. I choose; Survival in the Wild, choosing my level five Beautiful Rain Bird as the target!"

Sachiko-4500 LP  
Ronin-4600 LP

"Now that my life point issue has been taken care of, I will send my bird into battle against your little minion. Attack now! Rainbow Feather Slice!" Sachiko cried, her monster soaring past her with a dazzling display of aerial acrobatics. Twirling slightly, the monster came in close to the blue skinned monster before Ronin's set trap card flipped up in response to the attack.

"Trap card: Negate Attack." Ronin, who had quietly waited for Sachiko to go through her turn, finally spoke as he announced his set card. "This card stops your attack, and ends your battle phase on the spot. I'm not going to let you touch my life points, or my monsters. You can't with that weak and pathetic deck you are running. But I will give you this." Ronin frowned slightly, making Sachiko lean back with the awkwardness of the situation. "You are a lot better of a duelist than you used to be. You've been practicing I see."

"Uh…yeah." Sachiko nodded, looking down at the two cards that she held in her hand. "I have been playing a little bit more, going to small card shop tournaments here and there. Not regularly, but a few times at least." Sighing that her ace in the hole was already blown out of the water, and that she had nothing left she could play, she looked up at her opponent and former best friend. "I end my turn there."

"Good." Ronin nodded, sliding the top card from his deck and placing it with the other two cards he held. Laughing out loud, Ronin flipped the three cards over so that Sachiko could see each one of them. "First I activate the magic card: Cost Down. Discarding the card I drew: Snow Serpent, I am allowed to downgrade all monster cards in my hand by two levels, making my Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon a level six monster."

Shattering in a wave of energy, the Aqua Fighter was soon replaced by Ronin's new large, ice carved dragon like monster. The horrid beast ascended above Ronin, flapping its ice like wings so it could stay afloat. Roaring, the ice monster clamped its mouth shut, sending an ear piercing crash through the morning air.

From the card itself, a very light mist began to descend upon Reku's and Akina's lawn. The monster was again feeding off of the coldness inside Ronin's heart, gaining a great amount of power.

"Since he was only level six, I sacrificed my Aqua Fighter in order to summon out my Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon (3000/2500) in attack mode." With his now empty left hand, Ronin changed his open hand into a pointed finger, aimed at Sachiko's colorful bird monster. "Attack!"

Opening its mouth, the monster let out a massive gale force of artic wind, encircling the bird monster and causing it to freeze into a giant ice block. Racing towards the earth, the monster smashed into the ground and shattered into a billion tiny ice chunks that bounced across the soft grass. Finally, the chunks broke apart further, turning into tiny data bits as the monster was destroyed.

Sachiko-3200 LP  
Ronin-4600 LP

"Don't you just love this thing?" Ronin asked, a smart-ass tone dripping from his voice. "I sure do. It's invulnerable to your magic and trap cards, so you have no hope of destroying it without getting something strong enough to crush it." Swinging his head back and forth as he laughed, Ronin realized what he was saying. "Not like you could actually get a monster with 3000 plus attack!"

"We'll see what I can do!" Sachiko shot back, trying to make herself sound tougher than she really felt. Sliding the top card off of her deck, she added it to her hand. "Since you are out of cards and have already attacked, it comes to being my turn." Looking at her options, she grimaced at the poor selection she had to work with. Pulling out one of the cards she slapped it down on her duel disk. "I summon Prevent Rat in defense mode (500/2000), ending my turn." A small, blue shelled teal colored rat appeared before Sachiko, curling up into its shell as it went on the defensive.

"Draw!" Ronin snapped the top card off of his deck, sliding it into his left hand once he saw that it wasn't needed to be used yet. "Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon attack! Destroy Prevent Rat!"

Like before, the massive monster sent a blast of gale force artic air from within its maw, consuming the small blue shelled rat and destroying it instantly.

"And that is my turn. Since I really have all day, go ahead and just continue to screw around. It's quite entertaining knowing that I have you backed into a corner so easily." Ronin smirked, waving his arms as he spoke. The artic mist that had fallen across the lawn, and Ronin, seemed to make him drunk on the power he possessed again.

"Alright, draw!" Whipping the top card off of her deck, she sighed at seeing what it was. She was hoping for something better, but knew that she was just going to have to work with what she had. "I activate the magic card; Key of Life. This card costs me 500 life points a monster, but I get to revive two monsters of any attribute except light and dark. And both monsters must have 2000 or less attack points as well."

Sachiko-2200 LP   
Ronin-4600 LP

In front of Sachiko, two horizontal cards appeared. One with her orange and black striped tiger monster, the other with her dazzling rainbow colored bird; Mystic Tiger and Beautiful Rain Bird (1400/1000)(1700/1200)

"The two special summoned monsters I send right back to the graveyard when I activate Polymerization!" Sachiko exclaimed, sliding the said magic card into her duel disk. Appearing behind the two monsters, the card began to swirl, sucking the two monsters into it and spitting out a two legged tiger-bird hybrid monster. The tigers body was made more human like and upright, but still keeping its normal shape. From the back of the monster jutted two large, rainbow colored wings, and the long flowing tail feathers of Sachiko's other monster. On the face of the monsters, where its snout should have been, there was a large orange beak instead. "Fusion Summoning; Mystic Tiger Bird (2200/1700), defense mode!"

"What good is that thing going to do you?" Ronin laughed, pointing at the horribly deformed tiger monster. "Why don't you just send that thing back to the freak show, or the petting zoo, or wherever you got it from!" Howling with laughter at Sachiko's pathetic attempts, Ronin didn't even see the deep anger boiling within his opponents eyes at that moment.

"Whatever." Sachiko growled, pulling the top card off of her deck and looking at it. "If you mind, I'm activating the special power of my Mystic Tiger Bird. By sending the top card of my deck to the graveyard, I get to return one card of the same type back to my hand. I'm discarding Beast Soul Swap from the top of my deck, for the Soul Rope trap card in my graveyard."

Sliding the card in her hand into the darkness of her graveyard, Sachiko pulled back out the Soul Rope trap card, instantly placing it face-down on her field behind her fusion monster. With a rush of light and a humming noise, the brown backed card appeared before her feet.

"I end my turn."

"And I'll draw." Ronin continued, pulling the next card from his deck, smirking at what he saw. "Goodie. Looks like I get to do some horrible damage to you after all. I summon: Illusion Ice Statue (0/0) in attack mode!"

Next to Ronin stood an incredibly large, ice carved golem monster. Rumbling noise came from within its ice like walls as it roared out to the world with its arrival. Almost instantly, hairline cracks spider webbed their way across the shiny surface of the monster, sending out small pulses of light from within the fractures.

"My Illusion Ice Statue comes with the power to copy one monster on my side of the field. Of course, my target monster of choice is; Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon!" Shattering, the ice golem shed its outer layer of ice, revealing a perfectly carved duplicate of the ice dragon monster. "And as an added bonus, you have to attack my Illusion Ice Statue before you may attack anything else. And now," snapping his arm forward, he pointed to the mutated tiger monster that rested across the field from him, "Illusion Ice Statue (3000/2500) attack!"

Rushing from the mouth of the duplicate dragon, a tornado of snow and ice spiraled across the field, consuming the Mystic Tiger Bird whole. All that was heard from behind the veil of white ice was the blasting sound normally heard when a monster is destroyed. Seconds later, the tornado died off, revealing that Sachiko's set trap had flipped up in response to the destruction of the monster.

"I of course activate my Soul Rope again, costing me 1000 life points, I'll special summon another defender to my field." Sachiko cried, sliding her deck out of her duel disk and fanning it open. Gazing over the cards, she realized she had nothing that could stand up to the overwhelming attack power of the two Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon's. Choosing one of her cards, she slapped it down on her duel disk, which produced the silver furred wolf monster crouching over on it horizontal card. "I summon Silver Fang (1200/800) in defense mode!"

Sachiko-1200 LP   
Ronin-4600 LP

"It's not enough." Ronin smirked, watching as the wolf was caught up in a second blizzard, this one being launched from the real McCoy dragon monster on his side of the field. The wolf howled in pain before shattering into tiny data bits that floated up in front of Sachiko. "That is all I will do for this turn. You've got one more to play something, and then this duel is over."

"You will be surprised at what I can do!" Sachiko cried out, sliding the top card from her deck and grimacing at the card image. _"I'm screwed…"_ Slapping the card down on her duel disk, a red feather bird appeared curled up on its horizontal card. Sighing, Sachiko announced the play. "I summon Tornado Bird (1100/1000) in defense mode, and that is it."

"Yes it is." Ronin smirked, knowing that the girl never stood a chance. "You are lucky I went so easy on your in this game. Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon, Illusion Ice Statue, finish this!"

Sachiko covered herself, bracing against the upcoming attack that she knew was coming. She watched with horror as the two dragons opened their needle noise like beaks wide, blasting out streams of white fire, consuming all of her vision. She could feel the spin chilling cold from the attack, making her whole body go numb, then flop back wards from the incredibly shockwave released when her monster exploded. She landed on her back, lost within the white sea.

Sachiko-0 LP  
Ronin-4600 LP

"Sachiko, you are just as pathetic as always." Ronin turned, disappointed in the loss of his opponent. "I had such high hopes for you to. So long ago I felt our souls were like a jigsaw puzzle, fitting perfectly together to make a whole. But you had to go and destroy that, cutting out a chunk of my soul and leaving me to die alone." Grinding his teeth, Ronin snapped his left hand up, his duel disk de-activating and returning to standby mode.

Sachiko lay there in a daze for a second, unable to reply for a second. Sitting, she shook her head to get her mind straight. When her vision was no longer blurry, she saw Ronin standing with his arm crooked over the top of his open car door. His brown eyes locked on her, unwavering.

"Ronin…" She shook slightly while she spoke, feeling a wave of uneasiness and guilt. "I didn't leave you to die alone. I am sorry if you feel that it was that way."

"Save it." Ronin snapped, shutting Sachiko up instantly. "I am in no mood for your lies anymore. I know what you wanted; it was as plain as day. But now you will do something _I_ want. Listen and listen well. You will remain here, and when Reku returns, tell him to meet me at the shrine on the north side of the lake." Sliding off of his door, Ronin slipped into the driver's seat of the car. Starting it, he called out through the open window. "Tell him that he had better be prepared to go to hell."

With that, Ronin sped away from the curb, barely avoiding hitting one of two figures that were coming down the sidewalk with his side rear-view mirror. Slamming on the accelerator, Ronin tore through the quite morning street, disturbing what little silence was left in the nice neighborhood.

"Damn taxidermist!" One of the figures yelled, shaking his fist at the speeding away car. The other figure, a smaller woman hit him on the shoulder.

"Stupid, wasn't that one of the guys we are here to find?"

"Could have been." The guy growled, looking back at Sachiko who was still sitting on the lawn, watching the two figures argue on the sidewalk before her. For some reason, they looked oddly familiar to her.

* * *

"Ronin…" Order gasped, dropping her golden challis, the clear red liquid splashing out all over the golden tiled floor. Order stood in a daze, staring off into space while the echoing from the cup on the floor died out.

"Order, are you alright?" Akina asked, setting her own cup down on the table.

"Um…" Shaking her head slightly, Order looked at the people sitting around the table. They were all there except Kooru, Heruru, and Hebanu, who were in another room resting. Coming to a stop on Akina, and Reku who was sitting right next to her, she croaked out the words again. "I felt Ronin's presence. Around the same spot where I picked you all up from!"

"Were you searching for it?" Gurabe asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"No, not at all." Order admitted, her eyes falling to the table.

"I didn't think so." Gurabe's eyes shot to the side, catching Reku's gaze. "It would seem that Ronin somehow found a way to spike his own energy to a level that Order, and even myself, could sense without even trying. And it doesn't feel like the energy from the crystal either, it was inner force."

"Inner force?" Joe asked, tilting his head to the side. "You mean, like, his own soul's energy or what?"

"Something like that." Deruku answered for the zombie, placing his own cup down on the table as well. "Ronin seems to be tampering with a power that he has inside of him. Dementia unleashed his inner rage, and that can be a devastating force, especially when it's at full force, with no boundary or hinges."

"So he's at our house?" Reku interrupted before Deruku could go on any farther. Getting a nod from Order in a 'I assume so' sense, Reku slammed his hands down on the table before him. "Then send me there now! I have to talk to him!"

"I'm coming with you hun." Akina stood up, wrapping her arms around Reku.

"Us too." Joe threw in, standing up with Kevin slowly following.

All heads turned to Gurabe, assuming he was going to throw in his two cents as well. Crossing his arms, he leaned back in the chair. "I ain't going. I'll stick around here incase this place is under attack while you all are gone."

"And I'll stay and tend to Kooru, Heruru, and Hebanu's wounds." Kaira spoke up, drawing their attention to the girl.

"Alright then, everyone gather together." Order ordered, standing up from her place at the table. "I'll send you guys back. Keep in regualar touch and relay any information that you might find out. We will do the same."

"Roger!" Joe saluted the woman, before him, Kevin, Reku, and Akina were engulfed in a wave of pure white light.

* * *

Putting her hands on her waist, the female figure scoffed. "Oh yes, I remember you. You are that one I beat to a pulp and trapped in the shadow realm. Time has not fared well for you…you are still as ugly as ever."

"Seki…" Sachiko looked at the girl. Her mind was still in a daze and formulating a simple answer was extremely difficult for some reason. She felt as if she just wanted to lie down and take a long nap.

"Oh, look at that Akiaki, she remembers my name." Seki smirked, watching as the girl about fell over before her. "But she looks like a drunken whore sitting there wobbling back and forth."

"Indeed." Akiaki nodded, looking around to see if anyone else was around. "Seems like she's alone." Leaning forward, he spoke very slowly, like he was talking to a small child. "Do you know where Reku and Akina are?"

"We are right here…" A voiced called out from around the side of the house. Stepping out, Reku, the one who spoke, Akina, Joe and Kevin walked across the lawn to where Sachiko sat. "And who might you two be?" Reku cocked an eyebrow, suspecting the two of them weren't there for a nice chat.

"You don't remember us!" Seki screamed, stomping her foot into the ground. "The drunken girl here has a better memory than you, you retard!"

Bending down, Akina rubbed Sachiko's back a little bit, staring at the two figures that were standing on the lawn. Her eyes widened and she jerked her head towards Reku. "Its Akiaki and Seki, Reku! They were here yesterday when you dueled Yukio, remember. They didn't say anything and were way in the back. I couldn't recognize them until just now."

"At that time," Reku took in what Akina had said, remembering his duel with Yukio the day before, "I had a few other things on my mind."

"Well now you've got us to deal with." Seki shot back, holding up her left arm. "Its time to take you out, as per the orders of Lord Freyr!"

"You're working for Freyr too?" Joe shook his head, disappointed in the two duelists. "What is motivating you to do something _that_ stupid? Walk away now! As I recall, your minds were trapped for at least the past five years. You've got your freedom for some reason, why spoil it?"

"Because if it wasn't for Freyr, and Tal, we would all be trapped yet." Akiaki spoke up, holding up his left arm, the deep blue duel disk resting there glimmered with the rising sun. "You must also be a crystal holder that Tal informed us of. Prepare yourselves, we are here to duel you! The loser of the games must forfeit their decks, watching as they are destroyed before their eyes."

"What!" Akina shrieked, standing up suddenly. "That is a horrible thing to do! We don't have to accept terms like that!"

"You don't have to, but you will…" Seki shot up, smirking slightly. "We figured you'd refuse at first, so we learned of a little bait. Beat us both, and we will reveal a way to save your friend, the one that Dementia infected."

"Ronin…" Reku growled under his breath, his head tilted downward at the thought of his friend suffering. The he felt a slight tug on his pant leg. Opening his eyes he saw Sachiko had crawled over to him, looking up at him like a totolar to an adult. "Sachiko?"

"Reku, Ronin wants you to meet him. He was here not to long ago, we dueled. He's gone off of the deep end. What is going on?" Her voice was speeding up, a bit of blurring and slurring came with her words as her body felt completely drained of energy. She just wanted to sleep.

"Where is he?" Reku asked, bending down and locking eyes with the woman at his knees.

"The shrine on the north side of the lake is where he wanted me to tell you to meet him." Sachiko's eyes glossed over, her eye lids shutting over them as her body fell limp to the soft grass below. Panicking slightly, Akina bent down and jerked her on the arm to get her to wake up. "Don't worry Akina honey, she's just sleeping." Reku stood up, staring at the figures before him. "I don't have time to play your little game. I have far more important things to take care of."

"Reku, you go." Joe said, placing his hand on Reku's shoulder. "We'll stay here and deal with this. You go stop Ronin, and once we find out how to help him, we'll relay the information to you."

"Thank you Joe." Reku nodded, smiling slight. Without warning, he burst off running at full speak, hurdling over Sachiko's body on the ground and racing past Akiaki and Seki without them even having the time to react to his escaping.

Joe lifted his left arm, the Kaiba corp. standard duel disk on it begging to hum and light up. "So who's first? I'll take you both down if I have to!" Joe challenged, pulling out his deck and giving it a good shuffle.

Reku rounded a corner at full speed, blasting past pedestrians and other objects that littered the sidewalk. Very awkwardly he brushed his hair and a palm full of sweat off of his face, clearing his vision.

"_Wait for me Ronin; I am on my way to save you!" _

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Mystic Tiger Bird**  
2200/1700/5/Winged Beast/Wind  
(Beautiful Rain Bird) + (Mystic Tiger)  
Show the top card of your deck to all players. Discard the card instantly to your graveyard to bring back one card of the same type (monster, magic or trap) as the card discarded to your hand. This effect can only be used once per turn during your main phase.

Sachiko: "Today is the day we review one of my very own cards; Mystic Tiger Bird! This fusion card comes from my Mystic Tiger and my Beautiful Rain Bird, with a handy deck thinning plus graveyard recycling effect. Can be useful to get back the things you need, but because nine times out of ten you don't know what to expect from the top of your deck, it is a gamble. Oh well, 2200 attack points makes this thing and above average threat."

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	19. Pumped with Steroids! Gallant Fusion Go!

Episode 19: Pumped with Steroids! Gallant Fusion Go!

Stepping forward, the young blond haired man snapped his arm to the side before bringing it down before him. Smirking slightly, he slid a stack of brown backed cards into his duel disk, clicking them into place. The humming and buzzing sounds typical to the device revved up, the life point counter clicking its way up to the standard 4000.

Stepping onto the soft grass of the front lawn, Akiaki moved across from Joe, who was still standing with a silent, limp looking Kevin at his side. "Alright then, I'll be your opponent. Bring it on!"

"Very well." Joe nodded, holding up his duel disk. Looking over, he saw that Kevin was still standing there. "So…do you mind giving me some room?" He asked, getting a very vauge nod from Kevin who backed off to the other side, sitting down on the soft grass by himself. This brought a worried look from Joe, wondering what the matter with his friend was. _"I hope its nothing like what it sounds like happened to Ronin. Thoth and Dementia said that Thoth doesn't have the same power to break into ones doubt, but that doesn't mean that he didn't have some other power." _

"Hey! Quit day dreaming and focus here." Akiaki shouted, sliding Joe's head back towards him. He saw that Akiaki already had his opening five cards in hand, and was about to draw his sixth. "Here we go! Duel start!"

Joe-4000 LP   
Akiaki-4000 LP

"And I start." Akiaki cried, pulling his top card off of his deck and sliding it instantly into the field card zone on his blue duel disk. "I start with a simple field magic card; Fusion Gate!"

Swirling high above the field, a black hole covered the whole sky above them, casting a eerie shadow across the lawn. Small lightning bolts ripped their way across the swirling vortex, and a feint purple aura seemed to leak out of the center.

"Fusion Gate allows me to fuse cards from my hand or my field without the need of a Polymerization magic card." Akiaki smirked, holding up two of his cards. "And what do you know, I happen to have two fusion material monsters in my hand to start with. Using Fusion Gate, I remove from play my Crass Clown (1350/1400) and my Dream Clown (1200/900) in order to call forth my Bickuribox in attack mode! (2300/2000)"

The vortex above the field began to spin at incredible speed, sending bolts of lightning and a wave of the purple aura gushing out onto the field. From the center of the black hole popped out a small, colorful box. The lid sprang open as a demented clown like fiend sprung out, cackling wickedly.

"Guess what, my turn is far from over just yet. I activate this magic card; Fusion Cloner!" Akiaki slid the card into his duel disk, the image appearing before him in a rush of light. "You see, when I perform a fusion summon, I get to call out a fusion clone token by playing this normal magic card. This token will get only half of the stats, but its still invaluable to me." Akiaki announced as the magic card spit out a perfect clone of the Bickuribox, except this one had completely inverted colors from the normal monster (1150/1000). "And to end my turn, this card is set face-down."

Smirking, Akiaki slid one of his last two cards he was holding into his duel disk. It appeared beneath the two demented jack-in-the-box's who both started cackling like maniacal mad-men.

"Interesting opening play." Joe spoke, not with interest, but with general boredom. Sliding the top card off of his deck, his attitude soon switched to wonder as he scanned his opening hand for options. He quickly pulled out one of his cards, sliding it into his graveyard. "I discard a card from my hand to activate the special ability of my The Tricky (2000/1200), special summoning him to the field without a sacrifice!"

Before Joe appeared a large, yellow suited with black designed jester monster. Waving its hands around, the monster put on a show with his hands for his introduction, snapping its large, navy blue cape back around its body so it was waving in an invisible wind. On his chest, as well as where his face should be were large, red question marks.

"Alright Tricky, attack the Fusion Clone Token!" Joe instantly drew his newly summoned monster into battle with a wave of his arm. Cupping its own hands together, the jester formed a ball of blue and red colored energy, crackling with power as it blasted out from between the monsters fingers and raced towards Akiaki's inverted jack-in-the-box.

"Ah, so close, but yet so far." Akiaki slid his hand over to his duel disk, pressing one of the buttons on it. His set card flipped up, glowing with a bright light. "Fusion Clone's Life is a trap card that only works when a Fusion Clone Token is the target of an attack. When the token is destroyed, its coming back at twice the power it was at when it was destroyed!"

Crashing into the front of the box, the blast of energy soon changed to a up rush of red and blue flames, quickly swallowing up the monster within its red hot stomach. Seconds later, a loud blast could be heard as the monster was destroyed, its data particles floating slowly out of the pillar of fire as it died down.

Swirling around in a circle, the data fragments began to form a slow moving tornado, growing faster and more violent until all the particles collided together, recreating the monster token that it once was. Snapping open the top of the box, the demented clown clone popped out again, springing back and forth on its large spring (2300/2000).

"Crap." Joe watched the two opponent's monster get reunited, now at equal stats. Pulling one of the cards from his hand he slid it into his duel disk behind his jester monster. "I set one card face-down on my field, calling it a turn."

"Then I draw!" Akiaki slid the top card off of his deck, adding it quickly to his hand. _"Nothing of use yet. Either way, its time to do some major damage to this punk's life total!"_ Akiaki thought, his two clown monsters floating before him with large sneers on their pointed faces. "Fusion Clone Token attack The Tricky now! Clone Scythe Slice!"

Whipping out a large scythe from the impossibly small space inside his own box, the token monster snapped himself backwards, lunching his body forward on the spring he was attached to. Twisting around, the monster jerked back and ran the razor sharp scythe through the chest of the jester, causing him to explode instantly.

Joe-3700 LP  
Akiaki-4000 LP

"Bickuribox attack directly! Scythe Slice!" Akiaki called, his original monster racing past the inverted clone, his own scythe in hand. Winding back, the monster prepared to strike Joe but couldn't seem to move its body. Reaching the end of the spring, the monster was jerked back to his side of the field, looking rather disappointed and confused. "What happened!"

"A Kuriboh sibling happened." Joe smirked, pullingout a card that was ejected by his graveyard slot. "This card is known as Ghost of Kuriboh (300/200) and he has a special power just like its normal Kuriboh brother. You see, when it's in my graveyard, it may be removed from play at any time to make damage inflicted to me by an opponent's monster null in void."

"_Clever move, discarding it into the graveyard disguised as a cost to have to summon his The Tricky monster. Really killing two birds with one stone, as the card is probably totally useless while in the hand."_ Akiaki motioned his arm forward, his two toy-like creatures levitating on his sides. "Alright then, you've avoided this disaster. You won't get lucky next time. Your move."

"Draw!" Joe cried out, slicing the top card from his deck and adding it to his hand. Smirking at what it was, he motioned to his set card. "Alright, I'll just activate my set trap card; Call of the Haunted! This trap allows me to special summon one monster from my graveyard. I of course choose; The Tricky!"

Appearing with a blast of lights and sound, the yellow suited jester pranced around with its re-summoning to the field.

"Now to commandeer your Fusion Gate card." Joe smirked, holding out the card he had just drawn. "I fuse The Tricky with my Gallant Armored Warrior card in hand! Thus creating…"

The vortex above the field began rotating at an increased speed, sucking up the jester monster, and a white armored monster that appeared inches before it, vanishing into the blackness. Racing down in a lightning bolt like energy, the new monster crashed on the field, landing safely on one knee. Straightening itself up, the yellow armored, tough looking warrior stood tall and strong. Its face had nothing but a red question mark on it, and a large blue cape wafted out into the invisible breeze behind it. Clenching its fists together, the monster struck a battle pose to fight with.

"…my oxymoron monster; The Gallant Trickster (2900/2300)!" Joe smirked as his jester like warrior grunted, preparing for a battle with one of the demented clown monsters. _"No set cards on the field, meaning no hidden trap, and no other Fusion Clone's Life. I should take out that monster before he draws another one."_ Joe reasoned, snapping his arm out so he was pointing to the monster with inverted colors. "The Gallant Trickster attack! Take out the Fusion Clone Token now, Gallant Magic Trick!"

Rushing across the field with its arms flopping back, the muscular monster raced what appeared to be, right through the monster. Appearing on the other side, the monster stood up straight, flexing its shoulders before snapping its left arm up, the fist of the monster crashing into the back of the box on the monster. Cracks spider webbed their way around the smooth surface before the whole monster just exploded into tiny data bits.

Joe-3700 LP   
Akiaki-3400 LP

"Trying to fight me with fusions? What a fool, you can't win like that!" Akiaki waved his arm around his body to emphasis his point. "I am the fusion master, and you have only just begun to taste what my power is capable of." Nodding sarcastically, Joe and his yellow suited monster were once again reunited on Joe's field, a brown back card joining them face-down.

"I set this, and end." Joe looked down at the card, then back up to Akiaki. "Alright Mr. Fusion Master, show me what you are really made of."

"Gladly." Akiaki smirked, sliding the top card from his deck and whipping it around his body. Turning the card sideways as he flipped it over, he announced the move. "I start with my Pot of Greed magic card!" Sliding two more cards from his deck, Akiaki placed them into his hand before pulling one of them out. "I start by upgrading my field magic card. This card can only be played if Fusion Gate has been on the field a turn, replacing it with: Polymerization Steroid Gate! While this is in play, all fusion monsters are sent to the graveyard like normal. And not only that, all fusion monsters summoned through it gain a power bonus equal to their star level times 200."

The large black vortex that had been spinning above the field vanished, being replaced by a swirling vortex of green, yellow, red and blue colors in the middle of the dueling field on the ground.

Sliding another one of his cards from his hand, he slapped it down on his duel disk, smirking as the card hologram appeared before him.

"Time for a two card combo. First up is the magic card; Branch! While this is on the field, it'll special summon from my grave one of the fusion material monsters used to create a fusion monster that would be destroyed. My second card being; Burial in the Different Dimension! This returns cards from my removed from play pile to my graveyard, just in time to make use of Branch!."

One card left in his hand, Akiaki snapped it forward, face-down to Joe as he declared his attack.

"Go Bickuribox; attack The Gallant Trickster with Scythe Slice!" Once again producing the large scythe, the monster took off at full bore, whipping it around to strike the yellow armored monster, only to have the weapon stopped in mid flight by the target of his attack. A look of terror washed over the clowns face as a armor covered fist found its place buried deep into face of the monster, causing it to explode.

Joe-3700 LP  
Akiaki-2800 LP

"That was pointless." Joe squeezed the bridge of his nose, wondering why his opponent had just made a stupid move. All he was going to get from it was one of his weaker clowns back due to Branch!

"Not pointless, watch." Akiaki invited Joe's attention to the large, extremely ugly clown monster that appeared riding on top of a giant ball. Cackling, the Crass Clown made its first appearance on the field. "I have more than one way to skin a cat, and more than one copy of a fusion monster in my fusion deck." Flipping the last card in his hand over, Akiaki revealed a second Dream Clown. "I can refuse now thanks to Polymerization Steroid Gate to create a second Bickuribox!"

Jumping into the colorful hole, the clown monster was joined by his fusion buddy as they merged their bodies into a second demented jack-in-the-box monster, re-emerging from the hole a few moments later cackling cynically. A multi-colored aura engulfed the body of the spring loaded monster, causing its power to increase (2300/2000) (3700/3400)

"Now what will you do?" Akiaki smirked, letting his empty hands fall to his side once again. "Though you are lucky I can't attack again, I still wouldn't count you out of the woods just yet. I've got you pinned down now. Just try and stop me."

"_This is going to get me no where, fast."_ Joe realized, sliding the top card off of his deck, flipping it over so the face was revealed to him. Adding it to his hand of two cards with a sigh, he looked back at the field. His once dominating monster now paled by 800 attack points, and there was nothing he could do about it. "I shift The Gallant Trickster into defense mode, ending my turn!" He cried, sliding his monster into a horizontal position.

"What a pity." Akiaki clicked his tongue against his teeth as he mocked Joe. Sliding the top card off of his deck, he passed it off to his left hand before taking aim at Joe's crouching yellow armored warrior. "Go Bickuribox! Wipe out his last defender!"

From the box, the monster slid out its weapon of choice, the deadly pointed scythe. Pushing itself down on the spring, the monster launched itself up and forward, swinging the sharp weapon forward and into the chest of armored monster causing a scream of pain to rip from his lips. The chest plate of the monster, cracked, shattering off of the monsters body and crashing into the earth below, blasting into a billion tiny data particles. The monster soon followed suit as its hologram destroyed itself.

"My monster's effect activates!" Joe cried out, swiping his three cards he held in his left hand with his right. Fanning them out, he held them forward so their backs were still facing Akiaki. Smirking, his eyes scanned over the three of them before looking back up at his opponent. "When The Gallant Trickster is destroyed in battle, you must select one random card in my hand. If it happens to be a monster, then I get to special summon it to the field. If its not, then it's put back into my deck. So choose wisely."

"I see…" Akiaki rubbed his chin with his hand for a few seconds before pointing to the middle card of the three. "Alright, I'll go with the card in the middle of them."

"Bad choice for you, good for me." Joe smirked passing the other two cards to his left hand again. Taking the chosen card, he flipped it through the air, landing it horizontally on his duel disk. Before him, a yellow bordered card appeared, producing a purple robed magician monster with a green staff being held across its body for protection. "I get to special summon my Dark Magician in defense mode (2500/2100)."

Clasping his hands over his mouth, Akiaki looked to both sides of him in a rapid spin of his head, eyes wide, he opened his hands to reveal his mouth. Sarcastically, he spoke. "Oh no. Not the Dark Magician. Anything but the _weak_ and _useless_ Dark Magician. Who's in defense mode currently because…he isn't strong enough to stop my Bickuribox who is 1200 points stronger than it is." Rolling his eyes, Akiaki crossed his arms. "Please, that thing is worthless. I end my turn, just take your move already."

"Draw!" Joe yelled out, ignoring Akiaki's comments fully as he added his new card to his already growing arsenal of cards. Looking up, it was his turn to be smug and stuck up. "Isn't it going to suck when I wipe the floor with you because I beat you with a fusion monster of my own? Open set card: Card to Dimension Hop! This quick-play magic card works only if I have three or less cards removed from the game, allowing me the pleasure to bring back up to three monsters."

Holding up three cards, Joe fanned them out so that his opponent may notice them. They were Joe's three monsters, which he quickly folded back together and slid them into his hand, creating six cards total.

"I return my Gallant Armored Warrior, The Tricky, and my Ghost of Kuriboh to my hand." Fanning out his whole hand, Joe grabbed one of the cards and held up his favorite gallant warrior. "Just in time to use them once again. Activate the power of Polymerization Steroid Gate! Fuse my Gallant Armored Warrior with my Dark Magician to create the ultimate magician!"

The body of the purple robed spellcaster turned into a ray of light, shooting into the swirling whirlpool of colors. A few seconds pasted before a large ray of light burst back out from the center of the vortex, crash landing dead center on Joe's field. What emerged from the orb of light was a white armored Dark Magician, whipping its long, purple cape around its body. In its hands it held a large purple staff, on one end was a large green orb sitting securely in a claw shape design. The other end slowly morphed into a razor sharp blade.

"Now don't you feel stupid? You have to face down my Gallant Dark Magician (3000/3000), but not only that," Joe smirked, pointing to the vortex that had produced the monster just moments before, "but your little spell card gives him a major power boost, 200 times the eight stars it has (4600/4600)!"

Smirking inside the secure white helmet, the purple haired wizard sliced its green wand like blade through the air, stopping inches before the banana shaped nose of the demented clown who was no longer bearing its stupid ass grin. Instead, sweat was visibly rolling down the face of the monster.

"And your ass is grass." Joe fanned out the five cards he held, sliding them into his graveyard slot to Akiaki's surprise. "You know a lot about fusions, yet you don't even know the divine power of the Gallant Armored warrior. You see, when combined with the Dark Magician to make the Gallant Dark Magician, I get the unique power to drain your monster of attack and defense points, based on the cards I scrap times 500. Five cards gone, 2500 points drained."

Shivering, the jack-in-the-box monster watched helplessly as he was surrounded by a light blue aura that was emanating off of the tip of the sword before his face. Closing its eyes tightly, the monster felt the points being drained slowly off of him, painfully making him totally helpless (1200/900). Now, almost completely powerless, the monster bowed its head, its arms dangling limply in front of it. It slightly bounced on the spring that it was still attached to, but other than that, the life had been drained.

Smiling a sick smile, the fusion warrior magician raised its sword high, waiting for the word to strike his foe down.

"Strike!" Joe cried, the green blade slicing the monster in two equal pieces. "And this is the end." Joe spoke turning away dramatically as the two halves of the monster soon erupted into a huge, fiery explosion in the scene beside him.

Joe-3700 LP  
Akiaki-0 LP

"Now, if you vaguely remember the rules," Joe walked casually across the lawn, extending his hand out to the duelist before him who stared at it blankly. "The bet was if we beat you both, you give up the antidote, as well as the loser of the duel forfeits their deck to watch it destroyed before their eyes."

"WHAT!" Akina screamed, shocked and amazed that someone like Joe was actually going to go through with doing that terrible act by himself. Looking back over his shoulder at her, he winked slightly before turning back to Akiaki.

Shaking, the boy placed the stack of cards in Joe's slightly weathered hands. He watched painfully as Joe turned the deck over, fanning it open and looking over the contents of the deck. Smirking darkly, Joe looked from the cards to the boy in front of him.

"Now watch as I destroy your deck." Joe spoke with an evil tint, clasping the deck back together into its original stack. Winding his arm across his chest, Joe hurled the cards across Reku's and Akina's front lawn.

Slowly shifting his head, Akiaki watched as the raining card board drifted to the grass in no particular order, scattered everywhere. Looking back at Joe, he mentally asked what was going on.

"I don't need to physically destroy your deck, you've already destroyed it by using it, by using your above average talent for such evil means. So I disgraced you, as a duelist, by taking your deck, the cards you gathered and built together yourself, and scattered them to the morning earth. It is destroyed now, and it's your job to pick up the pieces and rebuild." Turning, Joe walked away from the dumbfounded Akiaki.

Staring at the boy's back, Akiaki turned to look at the pool of cards that rested across the grass. _"…that…was…the_ corniest_ thing I've EVER heard!"_

Turning on the balls of his feet, Joe looked over at Seki. Holding up his left hand, he flashed his duel disk to her. "So since the deal was beat the both of you to get the antidote, your ready to play?"

"I have a better idea." Seki smirked, snapping her arm out to the girl who was still sitting on the lawn. "I choose to duel that girl!"

"Sachiko!" Akina and Joe both shrieked as the blond girl just looked up at Seki. She was noticeably better now, having had a chance to rest.

"Why me?" She asked, bracing herself on the kneeling Akina while they both rose to their feet. "Why do you want to face me in a duel?"

"Because we have unfinished business." Seki smirked, the duel disk on her arm snapping out, then snapping into place. "You stood in my way, way back during the World Tournament, remember?"

"Of course I do." Sachiko nodded. "I had to stop you from attacking Reku. But you won that duel, not me. I don't understand your need for revenge in a situation where you won originally."

"_Mainly because she is the weakest duelist here I believe."_ Seki smirked at her thought, before rolling her eyes and glaring at the two woman duelists before her. "The fact remains that you stopped me from doing what I wanted. And when you are rich, like me, you get everything you want."

"Then don't you want to kill two birds with one stone?" Akina asked, snapping her left arm out from behind Sachiko. The emerald green duel disk lit up, snapping into place. "I won't stop you from dueling Sachiko, but how about you take us both on at the exact same time. Show us your real power, and if you win, you can destroy both of our decks."

Sachiko smiled wide, proud to have one of her best friends sticking up for her. Shaking off her nervousness, she gave Akina a slight hug before reactivating her own normal white duel disk.

"That sounds like a good deal to me, whatya say Seki? Prove your worth or forfeit and show your weakness to us." Sachiko prodded, trying to turn the battle field into their favor. Even at her current level of play, she didn't trust her skills enough to face someone like Seki or even Akiaki alone and be confident in winning.

"That's not what I want!" Seki stomped her foot, before pulling out her deck of cards. "But I never seem to get what I want. It's not like the two of you stand a chance verse me anyways. So I will accept this handicap duel, and I will win with my deck of rare and very, highly expensive cards." Waving the stack through the air, Seki emphasized that the loved the sheer value her cards were worth. With one click, the deck snapped into the card holder on her duel disk. "How, oh how, will you even fathom facing these cards, much less over coming them?"

"We can." Akina smiled to her partner before the two of them looked back at the spoiled kid before them.

"And we will." Sachiko finished the sentence, the two ladies setting themselves up into battle stances, awaiting the oncoming bout.

"DUEL!"

Akina-4000 LP   
Sachiko-4000 LP  
Seki-4000 LP

* * *

Tapping his foot very impatiently, Reku looked down the street from where he sat on a bench. Sighing when he saw nothing but cars drifting up and down the street, he stretched back and looked up at the sky before him.

"_Late as usual, I'm surprised this bus driver hasn't been fired yet. He does this so regularly that you could actually set your watch to him."_ Reku moaned to himself, watching the scores of birds bustling their way from tree top to roof top. _"And at the one time I really don't need him to be late…"_

Looking again, Reku groaned loudly when there was still no bus in sight. His tapping of his foot had picked up its pace, making a loud rhythmic noise to add to the already chaotic noise of the early morning street.

"_Taking the bus will be a lot faster than running across town to that stupid shrine. Why in the hell did Ronin pick a place so far away? On that note, why in the hell did I take of _running_ instead of getting into my truck…?"_ Reku sighed again, his forehead already hurting from having slapped himself several times for his stupidity.

Air coursed through his lungs as he took a deep breath, still staring at the deep blue sky far above him. He had calmed down slightly, realizing that there was really nothing he could do about the little mess he had put himself in. His mind soon drifted to the 'why' of what he was doing here. Ronin.

In his mind, Ronin's smiling face appeared, reminding him of just how strong, but kind Ronin really was. He was a born leader; he could command and control his troops, but was nothing but kind and loyal to them. That deemed him very respectable. Akina and himself followed Ronin and Ronin's judgment every time whilst in competition as Team Zero. They had no reason what so ever to doubt their currently reining leader.

"_You really feel weak next to us? There is a reason you were the leader of Team Zero. You are strong, and I don't think I've passed you by at all."_ Reku thought of the countless times he's seen his friends in the head of battle. Himself included. They all always fought bravely, and gave it their all. Ronin, more than any one else Reku knew, had passion burning in his eyes during the game. He trusted his cards fully, including the one card the Ronin connected with the most; his Daedalus.

_/Flashback/_

_A young Ronin sat at table, staring down at the mat before him. Across the table from him, a teenage boy of about the same age and height smirked. Running his fingers through his light blue hair before reaching down and sliding the next card off of the top of his stack of cards. _

_The two of them were having a table top duel, but not just any duel; a semi finals round for a local card shop tournament. Though it was small, Ronin still fought his way past the few duelists needed to get to this point. _

_A crowd had gathered around the two duelists. Reku, who had already been eliminated, watched intently hoping Ronin's opponent hadn't drawn anything that was devastating. Ronin had been on the losing end of this duel, but not trailing too badly. One more turn and Reku was sure Ronin could turn it around._

"_YES!" His opponent screamed as he slapping down the card he just drew. "I sacrifice my set monster card to summon my favorite card; Curse of Dragon (2000/1500)! With this on the field, I can't lose." _

"_Uh, Curse of Dragon isn't that good of a card really. I've seen a lot better, but you are positive that you can win with that on the field?" Ronin cocked an eyebrow, looking down at the normal monster card with a bland picture of a yellow serpent dragon upon it. Thought the attack power was at 2000, he couldn't see why this kid was so confident at such a card. It wasn't game breaking in any way. _

"_What are you talking about?" The kid cocked his eye brow, examining Ronin with his light brown eyes. "You may be right on with that remark, Curse of Dragon isn't that powerful of a card on its own. But what this card means to me is what makes it so special. It is like my partner, and I will cherish it and all the help it gives me. So watch this." _

_The kid announced his move, making Ronin drop his head in defeat. After collecting his cards, Ronin and Reku hung around the card shop for a while, talking to other duelists for a while. _

_Leaning back against the counter, Ronin and Reku were avoiding the large crowd that had gathered around the table before them to watch the final match. Gasps could be heard, cheers and supporting shouts shot through the excited air of the shop. _

"_And it looks like I win!" The kid that beat Ronin cried, standing up kissing one of his cards. "And its all thanks to you partner! If it wasn't for you, I never could have done it!" _

"_Beaten by a stupid Curse of Dragon." The boy's opponent, a short red haired girl cursed, walking away from the crowed as they celebrated the winner of the tournament. _

"_Curse of Dragon huh?" Ronin muttered under his voice, pushing himself away from the counter. With Reku, the two of them were heading towards the door to leave, going to avoid the post tournament rush. _

"_Hey, you forgot your prize for making it to the semi-finals." The store keeper called, stopping Ronin in his tracks. Pulling out a booster pack of Duel Monster cards, he tossed it to Ronin who caught it flawlessly out of the air. "Keep trying and try again next you. You may just win!" _

"_Maybe." Ronin smiled as he and Reku pushed their way out of the glass door. Once outside, the two of them began to head down the street. Sighing, Ronin stuffed the pack into his pocket. "That or maybe I should just give up completely. Maybe I don't have what it takes to be a good duelist."_

"_You say that, and I was the one beaten in the first round 4000 life points to zero huh?" Reku teased, poking his friend. "Come on, you are a great duelist! What is there for you to feel bad about? Just cause you lost to a Curse of Dragon doesn't mean anything."_

"_No, what means something is that I didn't just lose to that dragon monster." Ronin looked over at his friend, "but the fact that I lost to a team. The duelist and his partner monster. I think I need to find myself a partner to be able to truly be strong." _

"_Maybe." Reku grinned, slapping Ronin's pocket. "You have a whole pack of unopened cards sitting right there. You never know what you might pull! Go on, give it a shot. I'm sure fate is looking down on you now." _

"_O...kay…" Ronin pulled out the pack, ripping its top seal off and producing the small selection of brown backed cards that were contained within. Shifting one card at a time, Ronin examined what he had gotten. Nothing overly special, until he came to the final card. Moving the card on top of it off once he was done viewing it, Ronin saw that card that would change his life, his deck, and his dueling future. "Levia-Dragon – Daedalus…"_

_/End Flashback/_

Reku's head snapped downwards from his locked gaze on the blue yonder when the noise he desired so much to hear flooded his ears. Racing down the street was the white bus with a red and yellow striped line running down is center. Creaking to a stop, the bus let off the pressure of the ride, the double glass doors swinging wide open to let off the passengers, and to accept Reku.

Reku stood, bouncing on his heels as people took their sweet time to come off of the bus. The last passenger to get off exceptionally was slow. So slow in fact that Reku didn't see him at first and ran into him just off the last step of the bus.

"Ooof." The man grunted, looking up at the man he ran into. Smiling dumbly, the guy brushed the strands of his somewhat shaggy silver hair out of his face, being knocked out of place by the impact.

"I am soooo sorry." Reku bowed slightly, begging the forgiveness of the man. Straightening back up that is when Reku noticed that the man, while about the same size as him, was dressed rather strangely. Deep blue eyes that complimented his silver hair, as well as a tough, but not too wide build. Around his body he wore a silver and black swirled cloak, pinned at the top by his left shoulder with a large shimmering red bead.

"It is quite alright. You must be in a rush; I shall no longer detain you." The man stepped the side, motioning for Reku to get onto the bus. Chuckling to himself, he knew that he must look somewhat strange to the man. Turning away, his cloak rushed back with the air, and he walked away down the sidewalk.

"Great…another weirdo in town." Reku sighed, pulling himself up onto the bus. Looking through the large square windshield, Reku watched as the man continued to slowly waltz down the street. _"Why do I have the feeling I'll be meeting him again sometime in the near future?"_ Reku sweat dropped, thinking of his lucky fortune, or lack there of.

Clenching his hand into a fist, he brought his attention back to the situation at hand. Paying for the bus, he walked to a free seat and planted his rear end into it. He had more important things to worry about at the present moment than just some random stranger.

"_I'm coming for you Ronin. Wait for me."_ Narrowing his eyes, Reku focused on the floor before him, between his white sneakers. _"I WILL save you!"_

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Ghost of Kuriboh**  
300/200/1/Zombie/Dark  
Remove this monster from your graveyard from play to make the damage inflicted to your life points by 1 opponent's monster 0. This effect must be used during your opponent's battle phase.

Joe: "This little vermin that I run in my deck is brethren to the infamous Kuriboh. And like his brown furred brother, this white undead version also can make damage inflicted to my life points by one of the opponent's monsters 0. This time though, this monster has to be removed from the graveyard from play in order to do it. A handy card that I keep around, just on the 'in case' chance I'm on the losing end. Discard this card off as the cost of another card, and you've killed two birds with one stone, so to speak."

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	20. Girl Fight Part 1

Episode 20: Girl Fight Part 1

A sudden, but very small and minor explosion came from behind a slightly cracked white door. Pushing open the door, Tal was greeted with a wave of smoke flooding out of the room into the hallway.

Waving his hand back and forth to fan away the dark gray gas, Tal made his way slowly into the room where he found himself in the middle of a science type laboratory. A few of the white coated people were rushing to the young, blond haired man who had caused the explosion, helping him clean up a mess he had made in doing it.

Grabbing one of the white coated scientists as he ran past Tal, he caught the attention of the younger man. "Tell me please where I can find a man by the name of Masuyo."

"Masuyo?" This young, brown haired man with a horrible looking bowl cut turned and pointed to a door that lead into some separate room off of the this main science room. "Masuyo should be in there reading I think. Kid's always doing his studying, but why are you…" The man didn't get to finish his sentence as Tal walked off right in the middle of it, heading straight for the rear door.

Passing through it, Tal saw a young black and yellow haired teenage boy sitting in a ledge by a window. A large textbook lay in his crossed legs, opened with the deep purple eyes of the boy peeing into its white pages through the rather thick oval glasses resting across the bridge of his nose.

"Good day Masuyo. Never could get your face outside of the cover to cover pages could you?" Tal mocked, catching the attention of the youthful scientist, jerking his head towards the sudden interruption to his reading.

"Tal!" The brown and yellow haired man jumped off of the window, landing on the ground of the class room like setting, walking across the room to the man he obviously knew. "It sure has been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Quite a while." Tal nodded, looking down at the deep paged book that Masuyo held in his hand. "See you've been keeping up in your studies."

"Yup." Masuyo nodded, looking down at the book himself. "I have to, or I'll end up back in a gang. I'd prefer to stay away from that life really. It brought nothing but ghastly nightmares and tri-colored burses." Laughing slightly at thinking about it, he looked back up at Tal. "And what are you up to these days? Why are you here for another? I have a sneaking suspicion that it's not just for a friendly chat."

"Yup you are right about that." Tal crossed his arms, looking down at the young man. "I'm here to talk business. I've got a job for you. Nothing to dirty your hands with, but a small, fun little favor.

* * *

With short, stubby but delicately thin fingers, Seki snapped the top cards off of a stack of brown backed cards that was resting in her duel disk. With skill only afforded to good duelists, she fanned out the six cards she had pulled so flawlessly off her deck and began to scan over them.

"All right you poor fish, I'll take first attack honors and start this handicap match." She smugly spoke, pulling two cards from her hand and holding them up into the air with their backs to her opponents.

Akina-4000 LP  
Sachiko-4000 LP  
Seki-4000 LP

Sliding the two cards into her duel disk, the holograms of her set cards appeared in her back row.

"I set two cards face-down on my field. Then I shall call my Dancing Fairy (1700/1000) to the field in face-up defense mode." Before Seki and her set cards appeared three tiny female fairies, all dancing about on the horizontal card with their flowing white dresses. "Thus ending the first move of the game."

"Then I will go. Draw!" Akina announced, pulling the top card from her deck and adding it to her own hand. _"Because of the three people status, we can't attack until everyone has drawn once. Meaning Seki's Fairy is safe from our attacks."_ She glanced over her own hand again, double checking the cards she had before pulling one of them out. _"So I should throw down this card over a better monster for now."_

Before Akina appeared a horizontal card image. From the image appeared a small blue tiki-like man with torches burning brightly on its head and in its hands.

"I summon Flame Dancer (550/450) in defense mode, and end my turn." Looking out of the corner of her eye, she smiled warmly to her partner. "Take it away Sachiko."

"Alright." She nodded, snapping the top card from her own deck and placing it in her hand. _"Akina and I have never dueled together before. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Akina in a while."_ Sweat dropping slightly; she looked at what she had drawn. _"What a reunion."_ Taking the card she slapped it down onto the disk before her. "I also start on the defensive. Go: Mystic Egg Beast (700/1300)!"

A cracked egg shell like monster appeared at the front of Sachiko's field. Two beady yellow eyes gazed out from the darkness of the front of the shell. Down the oval shaped back of the spotted shell, it cracked again, and two large purple wings spouted out, wrapping themselves down onto the egg while it hovered slightly above the card.

"And I set this face-down to end my turn." Sachiko announced, placing one of the cards from her hand into her duel disk. _"Hopefully this will be enough to protect my monster. If Seki goes on the offensive, we may be in trouble. I don't really remember what cards she has, but I remember that Seki did beat me badly once in a duel. Her family's money has allowed her to buy any card she so desires. Compared to her cards, our commonly gotten cards are powerless." _

"Draw!" Seki cackled, snapping the top card from her deck and whipping it through the air, bending it down into the palm of her hand with her ring and pinky finger, she pointed to her fairies that began to glow in a tranquil, light blue light. "My monster's effect kicks in! If they are in defense mode during my Standby Phase, I gain an additional 1000 life points."

Akina-4000 LP  
Sachiko-4000 LP  
Seki-5000 LP

Laughing as she added her drawn card to her hand, she pulled a new card and slapped it down onto her duel disk. "And my next card consists of: Line Beast!"

With a shower of lights, a strange, see through, blocky monster appeared next to the fairies. Its design was simple, a square head, with two isosceles triangles for feet. Its eyes were also boxes, with smaller boxes insides for pupils (1400/1050).

"And next, my Dancing Fairy go into attack mode." Seki cried out as her little fairies stopped dancing, glaring down Akina and Sachiko. "Line Beast attack! Destroy Mystic Egg Beast!"

"Oh no you don't!" Sachiko cried out as the badly sketched monster came flying at her only defending monster. "I activate my set card: Castle Walls! This bolsters the defense of my monster by 500 until the end of the turn (700/1800)."

Crashing into the incredibly hard shell, the monster stumbled back to Seki's field like a drunkard. Shaking itself off, it seemed to be a pissed little sketch.

Akina-4000 LP   
Sachiko-4000 LP  
Seki-4600 LP

"Good move." Akina complimented her friend, giving her a thumbs' up sign.

"Thanks!" Sachiko returned the thumbs up, smiling proudly with her move. "I've been practicing a lot. So I hope to not drag you down in this game."

"I doubt you will." Akina smiled warmly.

"Hey!" Seki yelled, catching both girls' attentions and dragging them back to their opponent. "Don't be celebrating just yet. It's still my turn, and Dancing Fairy is attacking your Flame Dancer sweetie. Your worthless card will be wiped out!"

As per Seki's prophecy, Akina's monster exploded into tiny data bits as the three mini women burst through it. Giggling like school girls, the three pixies returned to their master's field, beginning a small victory dance.

"Now to end my turn I'll just activate this little card." Seki announced as her set trap card flipped up and started to glow. "Labyrinth of Nightmare is a continuous threat, changing the turn player's monsters to the opposite mode during the end phase of the turn. Fun sounding, isn't it?" Seki asked, laughing with her sudden strategy kicking in. The two monster cards appeared below them, indicating defense mode.

(Mystic Egg Beast 700/1300)

"_That means we'll have to pick our monsters position's wisely."_ Akina thought before drawing her top card. "I set this card face-down to start my move." With a ripple, Akina's set card appeared before her as she slapped down another card from her hand. "And in attack mode I call forth; Petit Angel (600/900)." As soon as it was summoned, the pink little ball monster with blue wings curled itself up into a tighter ball, shifting to defense mode. "I am done with my turn."

"Draw!" Sachiko cried, snapping the top most card from her deck and placing it into her hand. "For my turn I shall summon Griffore, attack mode! (1200/1500)"

An oddly shaped, red beast like monster appeared next to Sachiko's egg monster. Roaring, the monster stretched itself up on it large, platform like hind feet, revealing the body under the dome like hide on its back. Snarling, it bared a set of razor sharp, yellow teeth.

"I won't let you gain life points again! Griffore attack, destroy the Dancing Fairy!" Sachiko cried, pointing to the small monsters. Blasting across the field like a wild animal, the Griffore slashed down on the three small, long haired women; destroying them instantly.

"Such a fool." Seki smirked, speaking under her breath as she slid the orange bordered card into her graveyard slot. _"Dancing Fairy helps, but in this case, it would have been a smarter move to have destroyed my Line Beast, and you're going to find out why soon enough."_

"I shift my Mystic Egg Beast to attack mode, and end my turn." Sachiko announced, as she slid the card on her duel disk vertical just so that a second later she could shift both cards horizontal as per the rules of Labyrinth of Nightmare."

"Ok now to get to your punishment. First I shall draw," Seki announced, sliding the top card from her deck and adding it to her hand, "and second I shall activate the effect of my Line Beast. If it's in defense mode on my standby phase, I may sacrifice it to draw again!"

Shatering to pieces, the line beast served its purpose, allowing Seki to ad the next card from her deck to her hand early. With its destruction though, the set card on Seki's field flipped up, glowing brightly.

"And that automatically triggers my set trap; Recovery from the Catastrophe! When the last monster on my field is sent to the graveyard in a method other than battle, this card lets me special summon one card from my deck to the field in attack mode. And I think I'll choose," fanning open her deck of cards, Seki made her choice quickly and slapped it down onto the field. "Unfriendly Grizzly (2400/0)!"

With a shower of lights, a mighty, rabid brown grizzly bear appeared on Seki's field, roaring with rage. Behind it, the face-up trap cards exploded into tiny data bits, floating across the field.

"You see, when my Grizzly is summoned, it destroys all cards on my field except itself." Seki began, sliding the cards into her graveyard. "Furthermore, I am forbidden to play any magic or trap cards while he's on the field. But that is a small price to pay for this behemoth card. Now," Seki pointed to Akina's monster. "Be a dear, bear, and destroy her Petit Angel!"

"Wrong!" Akina cried out, her set trap flipping up. "My Silver Dollar trap card prevents you from attacking a monster with less than 1000 attack with your bear this turn. Nice try though." Akina smiled as her trap card with an image of a silver dollar coin on it rippled out of existence, its purpose fulfilled.

"Lucky brat." Seki stomped her foot into the soft earth. "Fine, I end my turn." Crossing her arms, Seki stuck out her bottom lip in a small pout. "Spoiled stuck up brats not letting me have my way…" She cursed under her breath.

* * *

Reku's eyes had moved from the single point on the drab gray floor to the window as the scenery of the city rushed by outside. He was still lost in thought, mentally preparing himself for facing Ronin.

His best friend for his entire life had just turned on him. _"I had no idea that Ronin felt so lost in our shadows. I can't help but wonder why. He's a strong duelist, and a strong friend. His heart is like gold, and he's always looking out for everyone ahead of himself. It makes no sense why he's doing this." _

"I mean, the way you summoned that monster and completely wiped me out! It was great!" A child's voice ripped into Reku's thought. Looking over, he saw two small boys sitting in the seat across from him, talking to one another. On their arms Reku noticed a pair of duel disks. "It was so fun, even though I lost!"

"I know what you mean." The other, yellow haired boy smirked. "Maybe next time you can beat me. Who knows what will happen in a duel. It's totally unpredictable. That is the pure fun of it."

"Yup!" The other kid, a blue haired boy with glasses, smiled wide showing off his shiny braces.

"_The game is supposed to be for fun…isn't it?"_ Reku adverted his eyes again, setting them on the shifting scenery outside the buses window. _"There was a time Ronin believed in that as well. We both did. _

_Though at times I think we forgot the fun of the game, when so much was at stake. People's lives, the stake of the world. When did this game get so complicated?"_

* * *

Akina glanced over the four cards in her hand before placing her right hand on top of her deck, looking up at Seki. "Alright, my move. Draw!" Snapping the card off, she smiled at what it was. _"Not to bad."_

"_I hope that smile means she's gotten a good card."_ Sachiko observed, watching her partners reaction to the card she had just placed into her hand, brining the count of cards there up to five.

"First up is this magic card." Akina cried out, pulling out a green boarded card from her hand and sliding it into her duel disk. "Eternal Valley Stream, targeting my Petit Angel for its effect! You see, by discarding one monster of level five or higher from my hand, its attack stats are added to the selected level three or lower monster on my side of the field." Flipping over one of the card in her hand, the one she had drawn for the turn, Akina smirked as she pronounced its name. "Fairy in the Crystal (2000/1300), a level six monster."

The after image of a large crystal with a beautiful fairy like woman inside hovered down onto the small pink ball monster, causing it to glow with an incredible white light. Stretching out, the monster seemed to be growing incredibly powerful from the aura now surrounding its tiny body (2600/900).

"One last magic card." Akina smirked, sliding the card from her hand into her duel disk. "Monster Reborn go! Revive the monster I just dumped for my Eternal Valley Stream; Fairy in the Crystal!"

Akina's favorite monster appeared before her in a rain of sparkly lights, drowning her in a rainbow of colors. The large, crystal imprisoned monster appeared in the flood of sparkles, spinning its outer shell ever so slightly as it hovered above the ground.

"Now Petit Angel attack! Wipe out her Unfriendly Grizzly with you Petit Slap!" Akina ordered, her small winged monster racing across the field and slamming its flat, triangle-like hand into the head of the brown, rabid bear, causing his data to bust apart in an instant.

Akina-4000 LP   
Sachiko-4000 LP  
Seki-4400 LP

"You're joking me!" Seki cried out, shielding herself from the flying debris of data that erupted from her once powerful monster. She watched in horror as Akina's second monster began to spin faster, rising higher and higher in the air.

"Fairy in the Crystal, attack the player directly!" Akina shouted, pointing with her index finger and up turned thumb towards Seki. The hovering jewel started spurting off beams of white light, criss-crossing all over Seki's body as the attack forced her to her knees.

Akina-4000 LP  
Sachiko-4000 LP  
Seki-2400 LP

"You!" Seki cried out, slamming her empty right fist into the ground before pushing herself back to her feet. "It's not fair. It's Not Fair! IT'S NOT FAIR!"

(Petit Angel 600/900)

"Hey, hey." Sachiko cried out over the pouting young woman. "Don't blubber just yet; wait until I deal my damage to ya. It's my move now, draw!" Snapping the top card off her deck, she looked at it with disappointment. _"The one time I didn't really want to draw Polymerization…"_

Both of Sachiko's monsters straightened up, stretched out their bodies as they were shifted onto the offensive.

"Griffore, Mystic Egg Beast, attack directly!" Sachiko yelled out, her two beasts racing across the field at the same time, blasting into the pouting little girl and knocking her back to her butt.

Akina-4000 LP   
Sachiko-4000 LP  
Seki-500 LP

"And I set one card face-down to wrap up my turn." Sachiko cried out, the set brown card appearing before her as the two monsters landed once again on her field. _"Good. Even though we couldn't finish her off in this round, we've dealt a significant amount of damage to her. And she hasn't scratched us yet, which is a plus."_

"I hate you, you…you…bitches!" Seki screamed, racing to her feet and stepping back up to her spot on Reku's and Akina's lawn that she was dueling from. "Won't you be sorry when I win! It is my turn, so I draw!" Seki snapped the top card off her deck with incredible force, holding it up so that she could see it. "Magic card go; Graceful Charity!"

Sliding three cards from the top of her deck, Seki added them to her hand and studied all eight of the cards she had. Nodding slightly, she pulled out two of the cards and moved them towards her graveyard slot.

"After allowing me to draw three cards, Graceful Charity forces me to discard two cards from my hand. But this payment is going to turn into a big bonus for me, cause one of the cards I am discarding is known as Golden Snake (400/350). When it's discarded, I deal damage to you equal to 300 points times the number of cards I am holding. Which in this case, is six." Seki fanned open her cards, showing all six of them to her opponents.

A strange, purple aura seeped off of them, racing across the field and into the life point counters of Akina's and Sachiko's duel disk, causing them to crackle a little bit before beeping as the numbers counted down.

Akina-2200 LP  
Sachiko-2200 LP  
Seki-500 LP

"Now to rip you apart." Seki continued, looking over the cards she held. "After being smacked down 1800 points, I'm going to increase you punishment by playing this; Currency Scroll. With it, I may special summon one level four or lower monster, gaining 1000 life points if the monster is 800 attack points or less."

Seki slapped down a card, watching happily as a floating gem stone appeared before her on the field. Its surface was smooth, deep red and blue mixed. Rotating around slightly, the gem revealed it had a sinister faced carved into one side of it.

"Meet my friend; Cruel Demon Crystal (800/800). And when he's invoked to the field by a special summoning, I get the special power to allow all players to draw a free card."

Everyone snapped a card from their decks, adding it to their hands to increase the numbers.

Akina-2200 LP   
Sachiko-2200 LP  
Seki-1500 LP

"Oh, but since it's a special summoning, I get to do this. Sacrifice my Cruel Demon Crystal in order to call out; Silver-Backed Death Dragon!"

"Hold on a second." Akina spoke up, interrupting the girl in mid motion with her card. "I don't care how rich you are, summoning Silver-Back Death Dragon requires two tributes, as he is a level seven monster."

"_Not only that, but it's incredibly rare. None of her cards are easy to pick up commons. This duel is getting tough already." _Sachiko was beginning to sweat with the rarity of cards Seki was throwing about.

"Oh silly me." Seki giggled, holding out the card that she was preparing to slap down on the duel disk. "Is the insignificant fly over there buzzing about me cheating? Well…shut up girly, I don't cheat and here's the card to prove it. Star Healment is a magic card that works when I make a single sacrifice, allowing me to summon a two tribute for one." Fading off of her field, Seki's Demon Jewel left no trace as it was soon replaced by a up rush of light

What shot out of the light was an enormous, biped dragon monster with large, massive wings jutting out of its back. Starting at the top of the dragons head, a line of silver scales traced their way directly down the neck and back through the deep, sapphire blue scales it already possessed. Reaching the tip of its long tail, the silver scales ceased, leaving the monster true to its name.

A gust of smoke and embers burst out from the nostrils of the monster as it wound its neck around to look at all four monsters that rested on the opponent's field. (2600/2400)

"Still feel so talkative?" Seki asked, pointing to Akina's little pink monster. "Well, too bad, 'cause my dragon would love to have a conversation with your little monster. Go, Razor Silver Flare!"

A stream of silver fire gushed from the maw of the dragon with the attack issued, racing towards the now panicking little angel. Putting its tiny hands on its head, the monster cowered before its immanent destruction.

"No!" Sachiko cried, her set card flipping up. "It isn't much but I activate Reinforcements, adding its 500 attack point boost to the Petit Angel!" The card, with a bunch of charging warriors, began to glow in sync with the tiny angel (1100/900). Being swallowed completely by the flames seconds after the increase happened, the monster was still vaporized completely.

Akina-700 LP   
Sachiko-2200 LP  
Seki-1500 LP

"Sachiko…" Akina looked over at her partner, a bit shocked that she had used her trap to weaken the damage to her. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it." Sachiko smiled back. "Were a team, remember?"

"Of course." Akina nodded, looking back at Seki who was sliding a card into her duel disk. The image of the set card appeared barely visible behind the massive dragon monster.

"I set one card, and end my turn." Seki announced. _"About time I started to put those two in their place. With my set up dragon, and my set trap, I'm sure to win this game one way…"_ Narrowing her brow, Seki let a tiny smirk cross her face as her eyes flickered once again to her set card. _"…or another." _

"It's my turn, so I draw!" Placing her drawn card into her hand, Akina gazed over what she had. _"I can't play a reckless move like that again. That almost cost me the game. Luckily Sachiko helped soften the blow by 500 points. If that helps, remains to be seen."_

A card appeared just inches from her feet with a surge of white and yellow light. Next to it a green boarded card appeared with a picture of a very large, green maelstrom.

"I set one card face down, and then activate my magic card; Giant Trunade, to return the set card; Insurance to my hand. Also, it'll return whatever you have set on the field as well." Akina recited, pulling her Insurance card back out from her duel disk and holding it up to verify its name sake. "When Insurance is returned from the field to my hand, I gain 500 life points.

Akina-1200 LP  
Sachiko-2200 LP  
Seki-1500 LP

Growling, Seki pulled the card out of her duel disk and added it back to her hand. _"Stall all you want, its not like I need this trap when I have my 2600 dragon out." _

"I set two cards." Akina continued, sliding two cards from her hand into her duel disk. "And shift my Fairy in the Crystal to defense mode. Ending my turn with that."

"Draw!" Sachiko cried not but seconds after Akina finished her sentence. With the top card in her hand, she smirked at what she had. Pulling out the green bordered card from her hand, Sachiko slid it into her duel disk behind the egg shaped monster. "I activate Polymerization, fusing Mystic Egg Beast and Silver Fang in my hand in order to create…"

A silver wolf spiraled into the vortex with the egg monster, causing a surge of energy to spurt forth. Out from the spiraling hole emerged the silver furred wolf with the back of the monster and rear end completely encased in the spotted egg shell. From the crack in the back, the large, purple wings sprouted upwards, flapping slightly.

"Chimera Egg Fang (1900/2000), defense mode." Sachiko announced, the fusion monster crouching down on its horizontal purple colored card. "I also shift my Griffore on the defensive."

Sweat running down the side of her face, Sachiko looked over at Akina who was busy studying the field. Looking back, Sachiko nodded slightly.

"I end my turn."

* * *

Returning her head, Usami watched as the curtain fall back over the glass window she was looking out of. Turning she saw her brother sitting on the couch in the living room, a cup of coffee growing steadily colder on the coffee table before him. Slowly, he turned over the newspaper he was reading.

"You're worried about Sachiko aren't you?" He asked without even looking up from the article he was on.

"Yes." She nodded, sitting down on the other end of the couch from her brother and looking back towards the covered window. "She has been gone a long time now. And it didn't sound like Ronin was in a very good mind state. What if…" She looked over at him, finally getting him to look up at her. "…he's hurt her?"

"I refuse to believe that Ronin would go so far as to hurt anyone." Ryokurio spoke with a solid voice, though his eyes flickered to the brown liquid resting in the cup before him. "Even though he's a bit lost, I don't think he's hurt anyone intentionally, especially not his friends."

"But does he believe he has friends?" Usami questioned. "I mean, isn't he doing this cause he feels betrayed by his friends? Needing to prove he's better than them?"

"Good point." Ryokurio stood up. "I guess we really can't predict what he's going to do. Let's go looking for Sachiko, and hopefully find Ronin with her." He moved around the table, aiming for the front door. Within seconds his little sister was in step with him, trailing a very short gap behind.

* * *

The dusty, thick door swung open as the man in a business suit entered the stone chamber to find the green haired siblings sitting there talking. Pushing up his glasses, Tatashi cleared his throat so as to speak to the Rinku's.

"I hope you two are preparing for the match." He began, accusing them of doing nothing productive. "It is tonight you know, and as far as I can tell, your decks have no sync with in them."

"Tatashi." Chime stood up, turning to face her young manager. "I think you can just sit back and relax. Even though are decks aren't made to work together fully, I'm very confident that we won't be getting in each other's way. We'll just play are games like we normally do and when its said and done, we'll be the victors."

"Chime baby." Tatashi walked across the room, placing his hand on her shoulder. Her smooth, light green hair fell down onto his hand. "I don't want to lose ya, you know? Between you and Mashima, I got no one else as good. I've really enjoyed working with you for the past years, but you're jeopardizing your future working with me by being so completely lax about this whole thing."

"No, it's perfectly all right." Chime brushed his hand off her shoulder, looking back at her silent brother who was staring up at them both with his demonic, red eyes. "We are strong enough to hold our own; we can easily take down any team that comes up against us."

"I doubt it." Tatashi turned, walking back through the door. Stopping about half way through, his eyes dashed to the cold brick ground below. "I just don't want to lose you. You're a smart girl, and very talented. Maybe your wasting your time down here, you could easily turn professional on the surface.

"The point is, the manager isn't going to make it easy on you. Who ever he has lined up will be two very serious opponents, and hardcore players. I don't think you'll be able to breeze through it with the attitude your sporting now. Just food for thought." Tatashi finished his sentence, moving through the door and closing it tightly behind him.

Chime stood staring at the spot where her manager once stood. Turning, she sighed and looked down at her little brother. Shaking his head with his eyes closed, Kiro smirked slightly. The razor sharp fang pointing down through his upper lip reflected the dirty light of the room.

"He worries too much. There aien't jack shit that anyone can throw at me that I can't overcome. I'll beat these opponents's." Looking up, he watched his sister sit down across from him, smiling wide.

"I threw some shit at you that you couldn't beat." She mocked, causing a vein to pop out on Kiro's head. "But you and I both are incredibly strong. I don't see what he has to worry about."

"He's a human; that is what he does best." Kiro laughed at his joke, picking up the white gadget that lay on the couch beside him. Holding it firmly in his right hand, he pulled out his deck of cards with his left. Placing the duel disk down, he fanned opened the cards and glanced through them. "I used these cards to help me over come one of the biggest obstacles of my life. Even as a pathetic human, he shouldn't be freaking out that badly."

"True." Chime stood up, walking across the chamber to a small locker located in the back. Undoing the lock combination on the front, Chime busted her way legally into the contents of the locker, revealing two small wooden boxes. _"Kiro is so calm about this whole thing. Not that I blame him, he is right in what he says, but still, Tatashi is right as well. This won't be some stroll in the park."_

Opening one of the boxes, Chime revealed three cards wrapped tightly in clear plastic containers. The prize cards glowed with a feint, black and green light that caught Chime's eye. The cards, all three green bordered magic cards, were the cards that Chime had sealed away and had tried to forget about.

"_The Seal of Orichalcos…"_ She spoke to herself, looking at the cards before her. Indeed, the untranslatable cards that lay before her eyes were the six pointed star cards that had been used as violent tools to Chime and her partners during Kaiba's Tournament of Kings. _"Maybe I should use one if this is really going to be that difficult…" _

"What are you doing?" Kiro asked from his place on the couch, not even looking over his shoulder to where his sister was standing.

"Um…nothing really. Just looking at some extra cards I might want to use." She replied back, not really lying to her brother even.

Pulling out the middle card of the three, Chime stuffed it into her pocket before closing the box and grabbing the second wooden crate in the locker. Pulling it out, she closed the thick metal door and walked back to where Kiro sat. Placing the box on the table before her, she sat down in her chair and flipped open the lid. Inside was an arrangement of extra cards.

"If you see anything you like, feel free to take it." Chime smiled to her brother who looked at the box with interest. As Kiro started to sort through the box, Chime reached down to the side of her chair and produced the green, circular duel disk and popped her deck of cards from it. _"I have got to have faith in the deck I built…"_

* * *

Kaira knelt over the sleeping body of Kooru, looking down at him with very sad eyes. He was wrapped up in white bandages, some still being stained crimson color from his open wounds.

Next to Kooru, Heruru and Hebanu also lay banged up and fast asleep. The room was small, with a bamboo like floor. The three demons lay on a very fancy looking mat, each covered with their own, pale yellow blankets.

"How are they doing?" Order asked, walking into the room and kneeling down next to Kaira.

"They are all sleeping, and most of Kooru's bleeding has stopped. I just wish it all would." Kaira looked over at the red haired woman, a worried look in her eyes. "If…these three were completely destroyed by Freyr, how can we stop him? Obviously brute strength won't do."

"I have no clue. I doubt we could convince him to place a bet on a simple game of Duel Monsters." Looking down, Order studied the shape Kooru was in. "We don't really have any kind of shadow magic on our side to lock him up if he were to lose. And even so, though he may not look it, he has been around for a long time. I'm sure he played the game when the magic and monsters were devastatingly real."

"Is there anything else that we could possibly do?" Kaira asked, making Order grasp her chin with her thumb and index finger as she thought.

"No, I really can't think of any way. The only power that we really have to our name is the crystal cards that the kids hold, and what's left of the crystal here." Order looked back up at Kaira. "It'd also help if we could figure out what Freyr did with the crystal he stole. He couldn't have injected it into himself. Not yet anyways, its too raw."

"So if we can figure out what he's done with it before he can adapt it…we could get it back?" Kaira questioned, getting a nod from Order.

"Yes, I would think so. Lucky for us, Kooru had one last burst of strength left in him and really injured Freyr. Let's just hope that it was enough to slow down their movement for the time being."

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Dancing Fairy**  
1700/1000/4/Wind/Fairy  
As long as this card remains in face-up Defense Position on your side of the field, increase your Life Points by 1000 points during each of your Standby Phases.

Seki: "This card is more powerful than people think. While it does have only 1000 defense points, this monster does have a killer effect while on the defensive. Gaining 1000 life points during the players standby phase can really shift the game's numbers the other way. A hefty offense doesn't hurt either. Combining this with cards like Labyrinth of Nightmare to get both an offensive strike, and set it up for your next standby phase."

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	21. Girl Fight Part 2

Episode 21: Girl Fight Part 2

Hygin and Archip emerged from the shadows below leading down in to the make-shift lair of Freyr and his minions. Shielding their eyes from the sun shining through some sparce gray clouds, the two began to walk down the street before they saw a blue haired boy leaning against a light post glaring at them.

"So where do you two think you are going?" Yukio asked, or more growled at his rather forced-to-be partners.

"We have some important business to attend to." Hygin snapped back, annoyed with the younger man's intrusion into their plans. "And they are none of your business, so just butt out."

"So that is how you treat your partners huh?" Yukio pushed himself forward, closing his eyes and smirking. "Well then, your being so secretive has pretty much proven beyond a doubt that you are hiding something." Opening his eyes, Yukio glared daggers at the two men from behind the deep, dark green eyes resting in his sockets. "Spill it."

"No." Hygin turned, storming off down the street. Sweat dropping slightly, Archip rubbed his head and grinned rather dumbly.

"It's really nothing. You can just stay here and wait for Tal to return."

"Or, since everyone has left and Freyr is wounded, I can follow you two and find out what you major secret is." Yukio pointed down the street to where Hygin continued to walk. "Now go."

* * *

Seki happily drew the top card from her deck, flinging it through the air and adding it to her hand of three cards to increase it to four.

"Now you two will see how hopeless this all is! And to prove it, I think I'll just dampen any plans you had." Seki pointed to Sachiko as she spoke, he large blue and silver dragon opening its large jaw. Inside of the razor sharp teeth formed a black and silver ball of flames, rushing out at the sides as it patiently waited for the attack order. "Attack her Chimera Egg Fang, and destroy her strongest monster just like that!"

Ripping from the mouth of the beast, the flame ball tore through the air and smashed head first into the defending monster, causing it to explode within seconds of contact. Dust, dirt and smoke filtered backwards towards Sachiko who shielded herself with her arms and duel disk.

Akina-1200 LP  
Sachiko-1250 LP  
Seki-1500 LP

"Wait!" Sachiko cried out, looking at her duel disk after it had beeped to indicate the loss. "How did I suddenly lose life points? MY monster was in defense mode."

"Simple." Seki smirked, pointing to her dragon with her thumb sticking out of a set of curled up fingers. "My Silver-Back Death Dragon, when destroying a monster in defense mode, deals half the attack of the monster it destroys to the owner's life points. Since your Chimera Egg Fang was 1900 points strong, I dealt you 950 points of direct damage." Laughing, Seki wrapped her arms around her stomach as she bent over slightly to accommodate herself. "The look on your face was priceless! Especially once you realized that even playing on the defensive won't save you!"

"_This could be bad."_ Both Akina and Sachiko had the same thought at the exact moment while the two of them watched as Seki's laughing fit subsided.

"Alright, to end my turn, I set this down." Seki announced, sliding the card in her hand into her duel disk, the card appearing before her with a blast of light. "My turn is done now."

"Hold on a second." Akina cried out, whipping her arm down. "I activate my set trap; Insurance. You see, in my last turn I used this card to gain life points, but during your end phase, I'm using its second power to return whatever set trap you have to your hand."

"I hate you!" Seki cried out as her brown backed card was ejected once again from her duel disk. Grabbing it roughly, she once again placed it into her hand.

"We really don't care if you like us or not." Sachiko mocked, sticking out her tongue towards Seki. "You're just a spoiled brat who is annoyed that we are stopping whatever strategy you might be trying to set up." Looking to her partner, she nodded with a big smile. "No matter what she has out, we'll overcome it together, right Akina? It's your move, so take it away!"

"Right." Akina nodded back, thankful for the vote of confidence. "Alright, draw!" Placing the new card in her hand, she looked up to survey the field. So far, she had her Fairy in the Crystal (2000/1300) in face-up defense mode, and a set trap on her side of the field.

Her partner only had Griffore, also in face-up defense mode (1200/1500).

And Seki had her Silver-Backed Death Dragon (2600/2400), but luckily nothing else set on the field. Her dragon had the power to deal damage both against offense and defense, so it was only a matter of time till they were burned to zero life points.

"I summon Formation Guard (200/1100) in defense mode." Akina slapped down a card next to her Fairy monster. The hologram the was rendered because of this, summoning a small, machine like monster standing on two legs. Before it a spike shield clasped together made up the for arms of the monster.

A large, golden coin came flipping out from behind the monster, landing on the soft grass before Akina's monsters. Smiling slightly at the result, Akina looked up from the coin on the grass to explain the result to Seki.

"The coin flipped up a tails, as you can see right?" Akina smirked as Seki, as well as Sachiko nodded rather lost as to what was going on. "You see, when my Formation Guard is summoned, I get to flip a coin. If I flip tails, like I did, then you cannot attack a monster in defense position on my side of the field that is three or less stars."

"_But both of Akina's monsters are stronger than three stars. Formation Guard has four, and Fairy in the Crystal has six…" _Sachiko contemplated as she watched her partner's play silently.

"Next I shall activate this magic card." Akina announced, sliding the card in her hand into her duel disk. "Star Placement Chart. With this on the field, I pay life points equal to 100 times the number of stars over three my monsters are. Once I do, my monsters will be considered level three for as long as they are face-up on my field."

Akina-800 LP  
Sachiko-1250 LP  
Seki-1500 LP

The green bordered card began to glow, seeming to suck in a strange, light white aura from around the monsters. When it was done, the Formation Guard began to spark up a light purple aura that jumped off of it and covered the crystal covered monster as well.

"I have to end my turn." Akina breathed a sigh of relief. It was lucky that she had finally drawn Star Placement Chart, as well as Formation Guard working out in her favor. Though she had to worry about Sachiko now, who was left defenseless with a mere Griffore as the only card she had on the field.

"Draw!" Sachiko yelled, pulling her next card from her deck and sliding it into her hand. "Damn…" She cursed under her breath, annoyed that she didn't have much to use. Pulling out one of her cards she slapped it down onto her duel disk. "I summon Firebird (1000/800) in face-up defense mode, ending my turn."

The flaming phoenix appeared before its master, squawking loudly with its arrival. Wrapping itself in its wings like a blanket, the monster curled up over its horizontally turned card. The bright red and yellow feathers of the beast glowed, illuminating the grass and ground beneath its card.

"So then that means you both are defenseless." Seki smirked, adding a fresh card from her deck to her hand. A quick wisp to the left and she grabbed one of the cards she was holding, whipping it out of her hand and onto the disk before her. "I summon Goblin Elite Attack Force (2200/1500) in attack mode!"

White armored, green, wart covered goblins appeared in a straight line behind the blue scaled dragon. The team was very strictly disciplined, not a one of them was out of line even an inch. They had sabers in their hands, all held at arms as the monsters prepared to fight.

"Goblin Elite Attack Force go, wipe out her Firebird. Silver-Backed Death Dragon attacks your Griffore after that!" Seki announced, her team of monsters racing across the field. With perfect accuracy, timing, and follow-through, they slashed the bird to bits, causing an instant explosion.

Retreating to their own field, the goblin's all kneeled down, crossing the sabers over their body indicating that they had moved themselves into defense mode.

Next, the black and silver fire ball raced from between the razor sharp teeth of the dragon. Scorching even the air itself as it raced through it with such power, the ball of intense flames engulfed the cowering red shelled monster, also causing a fiery explosion to ensue.

Holding up her arms as protection from the flames and smoke, Sachiko watched disgusted as her wall of monsters was ripped to shreds before her. Noticing her duel disk beeping then, her eyes moved slowly to the life point counter on it, watching as the numbers on it dropped by 600 points.

Akina-800 LP  
Sachiko-650 LP  
Seki-1500 LP

"My goblins go into defense mode once they attack, so you are lucky that they don't stick in attack mode for a while. Could be painful. As a cost to their power, they must stay in defense mode for a whole turn, meaning next turn they are useless to me. But oh well I guess." Seki explained, pulling on of her cards from her hand cards, and again sliding it into her duel disk behind her dragon card. "For the last time, I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"Draw!" Akina cried out, snapping her card off her deck. Seconds later, a strange, yellow and white ring formed around the behemoth of a dragon monster on Seki's field. Looking rather shocked, Akina scanned the field to see that the set card Seki had set was finally activated.

"My trap card is known as Halo-Bindings, and if you don't remember, let me refresh your memories of how my devastating card works. I have to pay half my life points,

Akina-800 LP  
Sachiko-650 LP  
Seki-750 LP

"But in doing so, I permanently ensnare a monster on the field. I choose my Silver-Backed Death Dragon. Now, this monster cannot attack, change its mode, or be sacrificed. But…" Seki pointed to her opponents, smirking darkly as she did. "During your end phase, my Halo-Binding's will deal you half of the monsters attack as damage to your life. So that'll be 1300 points of direct damage to the both of you. You're finished!"

"Oh no!" Akina looked at the card she was holding. It wouldn't be enough to win the duel on its own, it was just her Jerry Bean Man card (1750/0). "Alright, face-down trap card open!" She cried out as her set card flipped up and began to glow brightly. "Jar of Greed allows me to draw a new card from my deck."

"_So our future is riding on a random draw!" _Sachiko screamed in her head, watching as Akina placed her delicate fingers onto the smooth backed surface of the card on her deck.

"_It's all riding on this card."_ Akina thought, sliding it off slightly, and then yanking it off with incredible force. _"Please let it be…"_

Seki and Sachiko's eyes widened as they watched Akina do this. Partly because of the intense crossroad she was in, and the other part was the fact that behind the card, a dim, feint light purple aura seemed to trace its way through the air. Without even looking at the card, Akina knew what she had, sliding it into the duel disk.

"Magic card go! Oracles Rage Incarnate Seal of Power-Amethyst Crystal!" She cried, as purple sparks went flying off of the duel disk, racing up Akina's arm and flying sporadically all over the air before her. Bursting from her feet, a light purple aura the same color as the sparks racing off of the duel disk began to swallow up Akina's body.

On her forhead, a strange circular symbol appeared. The design in the middle of the circle was a group of lines, all shoved to the left hand side but connected at evenly spaced points around the circle. It almost resembled a crescent moon. Glowing brightly, the seal caused Akina to narrow her brow, a rather criminal smirk dawning her face.

"I equip my card to my Fairy in the Crystal (2000/1300). When I do, I must sacrifice all monster cards on my field and in my hand, adding their points to the card. So Formation Guard (200/1100) and this Jerry Bean Man (1750/0) that I drew go to the graveyard."

The fairy locked inside the gem-like prison began to scream, the same mark that appeared on Akina's head also appearing on her forehead. From the smooth outer surface of the crystal, the typical large spiked crystal pillars began to jut outwards. The same, light purple aura raced across the body of the crystal, more sporadic and violent that what was around its master.

Next to the monster, the Formation Guard burst into data bits, being absorbed by the aura. Same thing happened to small yellow bean-like monster that appeared for just a split second.

(Fairy in the Crystal 3950/1300)

"Fairy in the Crystal, now on the offensive, attack Silver-Backed Death Dragon!" Akina cried out, a darker undertone to her voice had become apparent.

"Wait, what the heck!" Seki watched in horror as the crystallized fairy came racing towards her monster. "What is that card? I've never seen or heard of anything like that before!"

The fairy monster dug the large crystal spikes deep into the skin of the ensnared dragon, rotating the outer crystal to create a buzz saw, ripping and tearing at the flesh of the beast. Roaring in intense pain the beast found itself falling backwards from the mere force of the attack. Crashing to its silver lined back, the dragon shattered into tiny data bits.

Akina-800 LP  
Sachiko-650 LP  
Seki-0 LP

"What…just…happened…?" Seki watched dumbfounded as she just lost the duel under some strange circumstances. Akiaki was in as much awe as his partner, looking on as the fairy monster vanished from the field, and the aura that had encased Akina vanished as well.

* * *

Reku's feet kicked up some dust and dirt as he jumped off the last steep of the bus and landed on the soft ground below. Looking before him, he saw his destination clearly in the distance. The large, wooden shrine facing off by the sparklingly crystal-like water of the lake next to it. 

"Ronin" Reku spoke under his breath, slowly walking forward towards the shrine, "I have come finally."

Lifting up his left arm, he saw the emerald green duel disk latched on tightly. Grabbing his deck he pulled it out and fanned it open before his eyes.

"_These cards have come a long way with me. But if Ronin really feels so pressed down under our…no…my thumb, he will most likely wish to challenge me with my card set. He won't stop or let up at all, not until he sees which one of us is truly the best."_ Reku closed the deck up in his hands, sliding it into his duel disk once again and brining his brown eyes back to the shrine before him.

Ronin's black car was parked awkwardly against a curb that was in a parking lot not to far from the shrine resting across a long stretch of neatly cut grass, so Reku knew for a fact now that he'd be encountering his best friend inside.

Walking with even stride to his paces, Reku soon reached the wooden stair case that led to the raised level and to the front door of the shrine. Within moments he was up on it, sliding the large wooden door to the side to enter the dark room, only lit by the sun gleaming off the lake on the open side wall of the temple.

"So you finally accepted my challenge." Ronin stood at the far end of the temple opposite the door. His head bowed, his eyes squeezed shut. On his left arm was his emerald green duel disk, already activated and into duel ready mode. "You finally have come to settle the score and find out who among us is really the best." His head snapping up, his eyes flapping open as he glared down his next opponent. "Reku Yamashita."

"Ronin, why must we do this?" Reku asked. His hand glided behind him, closing the wooden door before taking a step forward to face his friend. "We don't have to. We can stop here and life can get back to normal. We need your help, your strength to fight Freyr. We are a team, remember? Team Zero."

"Yes I remember Reku." Ronin nodded, his eyes never leaving Reku for a moment. "I remember _your_ team. The team that was led along by you, and by Akina. I was always a secondary player wasn't I? Lost in the darkness of your shadow!"

"That isn't true Ronin and you know it!" Reku swung his arm through the air, his voice rising higher as he spoke. "The strongest of the three of us was the leader, the captain, remember Ronin. That person was you. You led us with your power."

"In the beginning that was true." Ronin finally broke his gaze from Reku, looking out the side of the small shrine to the gleaming water outside. "I was the strongest, but by the time of Kaiba's little tournament, steadily I was no longer the best. Instead I was putting along far behind you and Akina. The last time we both dueled before that, you won remember?

"So I have gone on my own searching, putting myself through my every thought until I finally surpassed my pain." Looking back, Ronin moved his left arm before him so that his duel disk was level. "You are extraordinarily strong Reku. You have ever since you worked really hard to make the deck you used in the City Wide Tournament five years ago. That was just the beginning. From there, with the seeds planted, you sprouted into an strong, healthy duelist who was learning and growing each match."

"Thanks for the compliments." Reku bowed slightly, his eyebrows narrowed as he listened to Ronin's speech. "But you haven't grown weaker Ronin. Just like me, you've grown with every match. Without you, our team wouldn't have gone as far as we have. We may not be the best duelists this world has ever seen, but we try our best to be all that we can be."

"And I can be better than you." Ronin snapped back, moving his right hand slowly up until he placed it on his deck. Tightening his fingers, he pulled out the stack of brown back cards and flipped it open. With his empty left hand he pulled one of the cards he had there out and chucked it to Reku.

The cardboard spiraled a bit, and fell harmlessly down about half way between the two duelists. The face of the card was visible, causing Reku to glare from it to Ronin who had squared up his deck again.

"The Sapphire Crystal huh?" Reku asked, reaching for his own deck.

"That is right. I have grown more recently. I have the utmost confidence in my ability now. So much so that I know for a dead fact I don't need the power of the Sapphire Crystal to beat you. So I bet it, I bet my pride as a duelist. I want to beat you Reku. I WANT TO BEAT YOU!"

"I've wanted to face you too Ronin, but not like this." Taking a few slow strides forward, Reku started to move towards the card lying between the two of them. His eyes never leaving Ronin as he walked towards him, sliding his deck out of his duel disk and beginning to shuffle it. "We can stop this now you know; it will save us a lot of pain and suffering."

"I've been chasing you for too long now." Ronin began to move forward as well, also shuffling his own deck as he walked. "There is no turning back now. Here and now I want to test your power, and prove to both of us one and for all…who really is the best."

"Alright Ronin." Reku stopped his shuffling, pulling the top card off his deck and letting it fall from his fingers. It landed face-up on the Sapphire already on the ground, Reku's own crystal card; the Ruby Crystal. "I too will fight with no handicaps or power bonuses. This will be an even match, and when it is done, I hope that you can find your answer honestly."

"I have no doubts in my mind that I will." Ronin finally reached Reku, extending out his hand with his deck in it. Reku grabbed it, replacing it with his own deck. The two shuffled for a bit, never breaking their glares into the others battle masked eyes.

Taking back their respective decks, the two made their way back to opposite ends of the shrine. Turning to face each other, they placed their shuffled decks into their duel disk. Reku held up his, the plates snapping out and down into place as the device took on battle mode. A beeping noise raced through the wooden walls as the life point counters shot up to 4000.

Outside the open wall, a slight breeze had picked up, blowing into the shrine. Turning their heads, both Reku and Ronin noticed the sporadic, scattered dark clouds that had been forming outside.

"Looks like rain." Reku commented, turning back. "How foreshadowing and ominous."

"Yes." Ronin nodded, an odd smile creasing his lips made Reku shudder slightly. "Destiny is preparing the world to shed tears at your upcoming downfall. How befitting. The king of _my_ dueling world is about to be dethroned and the earth shall cry for it."

* * *

Pulling against the curb, the large truck came to a complete stop as Ryokurio and Usami hopped out and ran over to the lawn. Akiaki and Seki were still in shock at the strange card that had been used for the duel. Akina was sitting on the lawn, taking a deep breath while Sachiko stood next to her smiling slightly.

Joe, who was half way across the lawn between Akina and Sachiko and Akiaki and Seki, stopped to look at the new arrivals to the scene. Things seemed to be getting slightly crowded in the area.

Kevin was still rubbing his head, his roaring headache not having passed by him yet, also watched with interest as Ryokurio and Usami walked towards Akina and Sachiko.

"What happened here?" Usami asked, kneeling down to see if Akina was alright. Smiling at her to show she was fine, Akina began to answer her question in her typical sweet voice.

"Nothing much. Some old friends, and new loyal servants of Freyr, stopped by and forced us into duels. We came out fine." Akina gave a thumbs up to Usami who smiled wide at the news. "We won."

"Where is Ronin?" Ryokurio questioned, taking a sweep across the yard. His eyes came back and fixated on Sachiko who looked back at him. "Did you find him here or were you wrangled into this before you found him?"

"No, I found him." Sachiko's eyes darted to the ground below. "And dueled him here on this spot. Once he crushed me I felt a wee bit dizzy and disoriented while he was barking orders at me. He told me to send Reku to him whenever I saw him." Her eyes locked again with Ryokurio's, transferring all the pain and sadness she had felt from Ronin and finally understanding his situation. "So Reku is on his way to meet Ronin now."

"Yes, Ronin's new deck seems to be so powerful it will knock the wind out of you." Ryokurio nodded his head in agreement. "So where is he? What did he have in mind for Reku?"

"The shrine up by the northern lake." Sachiko answered, her eyes still looking deep within Ryokurio's for comfort. "And I believe he plans to show up Reku in a duel. To beat him down…but after that I don't know what. Nor do I know what he plans to do if he were to fail to beat Reku."

"That would probably be a worse blow to his pride then anything." Usami chimed in, standing up straight from her bent over position. "But he probably would get the same blow if Reku let Ronin win."

"But these two said they know a cure for Ronin's illness." Akina said, also standing up with the aid of Usami. She, of course, was directing her comment at Akiaki and Seki who sweet dropped slightly at hearing this out of Akina. Joe, who was almost to them, continued his pace and backed them both together in fear of him.

"So, what is the cure?" Joe demanded the answer, causing them to look dumbfounded at each other.

"There…um…" Akiaki looked at Seki who slowly shoved herself to the background, trying to defuse the blame more on him. "…really…was no cure that we know of. We just said that to get you to duel us."

"Oh really?" Joe cocked and eyebrow at the two of them. Holding his hands together he slowly, but loudly began to crack his knuckles in an attempt to strike fear into the two of them. "Wrong answer."

* * *

The groaning echoed off the walls of the chamber the three demonic creatures were staying in. Freyr, who was kneeling on the ground, arched his back and growled deep within his throat. Dementia withdrew her hands from the back of her master, bowing her head in shame of hurting him with her back massage.

"I am so sorry master Freyr." She quickly spit out, hopping that she could make it up to him before he lost his temper. To her clear surprise, he just relaxed once the pain left and looked down at the floor before him.

"Don't worry about it Dementia."

"_Now THAT isn't like the master at all."_ Thoth watched in surprised from his place leaning against the far wall. He watched as Dementia took in a big breath of air before returning to gently rub his back. _"He'd normally bite the head of anyone who were to hurt him. Is he disappointed that he actually failed in his mission due to a bunch of kids and three demons?"_

"How is this master?" Dementia asked, rubbing her hand over a rough spot on his back, causing him to flinch slightly, but not shriek out in pain.

"It's good Dementia." He spoke with little interest on his own pain. He seemed to be distracted by other affairs at the moment. His three eyes closed tightly, still receiving the back rub from his vampire servant. _"Kooru, you shall pay for your ignorance soon enough, but before that, I have an affair with someone else that I must see too. These young humans have become more of a threat than I imagined they could be. There powers are incredibly stronger than I first read them to be. Seems I must deal with them myself."_

"Well, on the plus side, those humans that we recruited are finally coming in handy. The one called Tal, despite being quite rebellious, is actually serving a good purpose on his own." Thoth closed his eyes, bowing his elongated head. His arms crossed in front of his tilted body still against the wall, he continued to speak. "If nothing else, he will continue to hound those kids and wear them down with exhaustion. It will keep them from gaining any ground against us at least."

"You're right." Dementia smiled sinisterly at her partner. "He and those others he had following him may be bumbling idiots for the most part, but as far as humans go, they are pretty resourceful. Who would have ever guessed we'd ever use humans to do our dirty work."

"Tal is very thoughtful and thorough. He knows how this game works." Thoth, with his body still in the same position and his eyes closed, continued to talk. "And here I thought he was just pulling our legs when he said he had worked for a great person seeking this crystal before. His methods are a bit round-about, but he does get the job done."

"It wasn't mere coincidence that we stumbled onto him, Hygin and Archip." Freyr growled, causing Dementia to stop and Thoth to instantly open his eyes to look at his master. "People who have faced off against these kids before. Know about the ultimate crystal. And do know their way around war tactics. There is some kind of unexplainable power and force at work here. I don't know what, but something has guided us to them. And them to other past enemies of those blasted humans."

"So you don't believe it to be sere luck that we stumbled onto them, Master?" Dementia asked, bending down next to the red skinned demon.

"No. I believe it was meant to happen. We were fated to meet."

"You do have a point Master." Thoth pushed himself forward, walking towards the red skinned demon and the crouching vampire. "Only a sick and twisted, professional story weaver could come up with something this devious and coincidental in an epic fairy tale."

* * *

With his index and middle fingers on the top card of his deck resting in his emerald green duel disk, Ronin smirked darkly at his opponent. With one foolproof swing of his arm he slid a group of cards off of his deck. Adding them to his left hand, he folded out exactly five cards.

"Well Reku, it is about time we end this once and for all."

Reku, a little more casual then Ronin, slid five cards off of his deck one at a time, placing them in his left hand and observing them as they went. Looking up after his fifth, he stared at his opponent who was glaring back.

"I believe you are out of your mind Ronin." Reku responded, watching his friend snicker at his comment. "But if this is the only way for you to find out what you need to know, then by all means, let's get this over with."

"Then I hope you stay true to your word Reku." Ronin suddenly took on a very serious attitude once again. "You best be fighting full out against me. I refuse to pull any punches against you, and if you let me win, it will just go to show that you are a sniveling coward."

"Ronin." Reku bowed his head, shaking it from side to side slowly. "I would never just let you win. That would be a disgrace and dishonor to both of our prides' as duelists. I will fight you full out in an even match. Then, when a winner is decided, you will finally have the answer you seek from this meaningless battle."

"You're wrong." Ronin shot back, interrupting his friend. "It isn't the outcome that I am interested in. I am interested in the fight it takes to get there. This battle means more to me than you will ever know, Reku. Give me a full, strong fight and I will have my answer. It's going to be whichever one of us is capable of putting up the better war, and commanding our troops the best, that the real trophy will go to." Waving his arm through the air, Ronin indicated he was wiping away the slate. Cutting the threads of conversation right there. "No more talk, time to play. Why don't you take first turn honors?"

"Very well."

"DUEL!" They both cried out as a gust of wind, at that very instant, came rushing through the open side wall and across both duelists.

Reku-4000 LP  
Ronin-4000 LP

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Halo-Bindings**  
Cont. Trap  
Pay half your life points to activate this card. Select one face-up monster on the field. The selected monster cannot attack, change its battle position, or be sacrificed. During the end phase of your opponent's turns, deal half attack strength of the selected card to your opponent's life points.

Akina: "Wow, ok then. This card is known only as Halo-Bindings. Though it is rather costly at half your total life points, if you are strategic enough, it can bind and hinder one card on the field completely. Dealing a little burn damage on the side as well. What a deal! Seki used this card to about beat me and Sachiko, and it would have worked too! Just hope you don't run into this thing in a dark ally duel."

A/N: And next…the duel you've all been waiting for. Next week, guess who faces off finally…

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	22. Path to the Heart’s Answer

Episode 22: Path to the Heart's Answer

With his index and middle fingers on the top card of his deck resting in his emerald green duel disk, Ronin smirked darkly at his opponent. With one foolproof swing of his arm he slid a group of cards off of his deck. Adding them to his left hand, he folded out exactly five cards.

"Well Reku, it is about time we end this once and for all."

Reku, a little more casual then Ronin, slid five cards off of his deck one at a time, placing them in his left hand and observing them as they went. Looking up after his fifth, he stared at his opponent who was glaring back.

"I believe you are out of your mind Ronin." Reku responded, watching his friend snicker at his comment. "But if this is the only way for you to find out what you need to know, then by all means, let's get this over with."

"Then I hope you stay true to your word Reku." Ronin suddenly took on a very serious attitude once again. "You best be fighting full out against me. I refuse to pull any punches against you, and if you let me win, it will just go to show that you are a sniveling coward."

"Ronin." Reku bowed his head, shaking it from side to side slowly. "I would never just let you win. That would be a disgrace and dishonor to both of our prides' as duelists. I will fight you full out in an even match. Then, when a winner is decided, you will finally have the answer you seek."

"You're wrong." Ronin shot back, interrupting his friend. "It isn't the outcome that I am interested in. I am interested in the fight it takes to get there. Give me a full, strong fight and I will have my answer. It's going to be whichever one of us is capable of putting up the better war, and commanding our troops the best, that the real trophy will go to." Waving his arm through the air, Ronin indicated he was wiping away the slate. Cutting the threads of conversation right there. "No more talk, time to play. Why don't you take first turn honors?"

"Very well."

"DUEL!" They both cried out as a gust of wind, at that very instant, came rushing through the open side wall and across both duelists.

Reku-4000 LP  
Ronin-4000 LP

"Draw!" Reku yelled out, sliding his opening sixth card off his deck and placing it into his hand. Taking a quick sweep of the options he had, he smirked and placed a card onto his duel tray. "I start of with summoning this: Robotic Knight (1600/1800), attack mode."

The black, red and yellow colored robotic monster appeared before Reku. Its thin, cylinder like saber in hand and raised to battle. Its outfit, while being completely made of metal, resembled that of a uniform that would be seen on a commander of an army, while its head was shaped into that of a commander's cap.

"I end my turn there." Reku called out, Ronin stepping back slightly and growling at hearing this.

"I thought you were going to fight me at your best!" He yelled, making Reku laugh slightly.

"Who said I wasn't?" Reku cocked an eyebrow, a smile still on his face. "Now just let me play my game, and worry about your own game."

"Fine." Ronin growled again, placing his hand on the top card of his deck. "It is my turn now, draw!" Once the top card was pulled from his deck, he instantly grabbed another card from his hand without ever putting down the new card.

Slapping the one from his hand onto the duel disk, a holographic image of Ronin's card appeared. Lighting up the shrine with an incredible shower of light, a large, ice carved serpent dragon appeared. Hissing, the monster looked around with its beat red eyes while flexing around its long neck. Four, thin, arms with razor sharp claws at the end of the paws connected with the wooden floor of the shrine. (1600/1200)

"I'd like to introduce you to my Frost Dragon, Reku. He is quite the looker wouldn't you say." Ronin smirked, with the drawn card still in hand as he spoke, he quickly placing it at the entrance to his graveyards slot. Sucking it in, the card vanished into the darkness. "And by discarding one card from my hand, his power kicks in. He drains one monster on the field by 500 points."

"What! No…" Reku's eyes widened at this sudden change in development. A ghastly white aura seeped off of the serpent dragon, racing across the gap between him and the robot monster, surrounding and engulfing it instantly (1100/1800).

"Attack it now!" Ronin shouted, whipping his arm across his body. Instantly, the dragon monster opened its jaw, sending a powerful wave of ice and snow gushing from deep in its throat. Ripping across the air, the attack collided with the chest of the metallic monster, causing it to explode in a huge fire ball.

Reku-3500 LP  
Ronin-4000 LP

"And now to set this card." Ronin smirked after his attack had collided, pulling another card from his hand and sliding it into his duel disk. Appearing before him in a wave of light, the set magic or trap card was placed behind his Frost Dragon. "I end my turn with that."

"Then it is my turn." Reku slid the next card from his deck, flipping it over so that the face of the card was visible to him. Smirking slightly, he looked back at Ronin. "Well, it seems that even thought you did all that, our power is still even. As I shall make our life points the same once again." A holographic image of a magic card appeared before Reku, the image was a massive wave of flames, with three fairies trying to escape its warm embrace. "Activate Tremendous Flame now!"

"No way!" Ronin's eyes widened, as for the first time since he had gotten this new deck, his life points decreased below 4000.

Reku-3000 LP  
Ronin-3000 LP

"Tremendous Flame, when activated, deals me 500 points of direct damage. But in exchange, you are taking 1000 total points. That brings our scores to an even 3000 each."

Reku explained while pulling a new card from his hand and slapping it down onto his own duel disk. With a rush of energy, the emerald green duel disk lit up as it read the data being provided by the card.

"Next I summon Thing in the Crater (1100/1200), defense mode!" Reku called out as the hologram of the horizontally turned card appeared before him. With a shower of sparks, an image came popping out of the card. The monster looked to be a large, gray rock wall surrounding a molten pool of lave. Against the base of the rock wall, but above the lava, there was a small, dark cave with two, blue beady eyes peering out.

The whole thing wasn't very big though, the tip of the rock wall came only up to Reku's knee. So the monster looked to be more like a miniature model.

"And that is all I shall do on my turn." Reku continued, waving his arm through the air.

"_What is he doing!"_ Ronin screamed in his head, sliding the top card off his deck. _"Is he trying to anger me by playing moves like that? Or is he really not have any better cards in his hand. Well…I shall force him to play better than that!"_ Ronin narrowed his brow, slapping a card from his hand onto his duel disk. "Rise up; Snow Sprite! (1100/700)"

A pale blue female monster appeared next to the ice carved dragon, glaring at the opposing warm monster with solid white eyes. On the lower leg of the monster, as well as the forearms and across the groin of the monster there was armor of dark blue. The head of the monster seemed to be covered in a head dress, with long flowing icicles coming off the back down to the back of the monster.

"Snow Sprite is a rare card of mine." Ronin began, smirking at the arrival of the new ice monster. "You see, as long as she remains on my field. You cannot activate magic cards from your hand. And your set magic cards must wait a turn before they are able to be activated. Lovely how that works out isn't it?"

"My magic cards basically turn into trap cards…" Reku growled, taking a quick sweep of his hand again. "That could become a problem."

"You bet it will. For you anyways. Now," Ronin snapped his arm forward, pointing directly at the rock wall sitting before Reku "Frost Dragon go! Wipe out the Thing in the Crater with artic gust!" Once again, the ice dragon opened its maw wide, blasting streams of ice and snow from its throat towards the rock wall, causing instant death to it.

"Thing in the Crater's effect activates then!" Reku yelled out as he slid the orange bordered card from his hand into his graveyard. "When destroyed as a result of battle, I can special summon a monster from my hand, as long as it belongs to the pyro family."

Within moment of the smoke clearing from the attack against the rock wall, a large, blue and red swirled skinned dragon monster began to rise up. From its circular body, sprang out two large, snarling dragon-like heads. On its back were two, huge flapping wings keeping the legless monster afloat. Its tail whipped through the air, at the end being a three toed claw (2200/1700).

"The monster I choose is Twin-Head Fire Dragon." Reku smirked, the yellow bordered card being placed on his duel disk in an empty monster zone. "I hate to say it, but your Snow Sprite isn't strong enough to take on my dragon. What do you plan to do now?"

"So you were prepared for the worst I see." Ronin smirked; a bit disappointed in himself that he had forgotten the effect of Thing in the Crater. But pleased that Reku wasn't giving up so easy. "I will just end my turn there, take your turn already."

"Very well Ronin. My turn; Draw!" Reku yelled, sliding the top card from his deck and adding to his hand to create four cards total. Looking up, Reku took in the field. _"As long as he has his Snow Sprite on the field, I can't activate any magic cards until they have been set for a turn. That means I should deal with that thing first. At only 1100 attack points, he must have a set trap to protect it. I know Ronin; he wouldn't do something so reckless without some sort of back-up plan." _ Taking a quick sweep of his hand, he knew what he had to do. _"Alright!"_

Picking up the red and blue skinned dragon's card from his duel disk, Reku slapped down another card in its place, smirking as the blast of lights went racing through his duel disk.

"I tribute my Twin-Head Fire Dragon in order to call forth this bad-ass! Rise up; Jinzo (2400/1200)!"

Engulfing the strange doubled headed dragon in a up rush of white light, the sacrifice took place like it should, producing the green and yellow armored android with ease. Its peach colored skin that was wrapped around its super brain was the only thing about the large machine that was human. Crossing its long, wiry arms, the android's two round, red eyes began to glow. A low grown came from the monster as he detected that Ronin's face-down card was going to provide it no problem.

"Jinzo negates trap cards, as I'm fairly sure you remember." Reku smirked, pointing to Ronin's set card. "Making sure that your set trap won't do me any harm. Now Jinzo! Attack and destroy Snow Sprite with Cyber Energy Shock attack!"

Cupping its green, metal hands, the monster created a large black sphere of electronic energy between its curled inward fingers. With a rush of energy from behind it, the orb went bursting out of the monsters hands, racing across the field and crashing into the blue skinned fairy.

Reku-3000 LP  
Ronin-1700 LP

"_Yes, that puts me at a distinct advantage!"_ Reku silently congratulated himself for his victory, though he knew he had a long way to go yet. This move was only going to provoke Ronin more. "I end my turn."

"You shall fall here Reku!" Ronin growled, sliding the top card form his deck and moved it across his face. "Yes, this proves it. I summon Snow Serpent (2000/500) in attack mode!" A large, ice colored snake sprang up on the field behind Ronin. Hissing, the monster showed off its forked tongue as a wave of artic white fog came rolling out of the monsters throat. The deep, blue eyes also produced a strange aura of white fog as well. "You shall meet my power now Reku, it is time to get back at you!"

The fog rolled down, covering Ronin and for a moment obscuring his view. When it passed by him, the artic fog had collided with the floor and began to roll across it. The once nice wooden floor was now being covered in a strange holographic ice.

"And again, I discard a card for the effect of Frost Dragon. I'm sure you remember this. I have never considered you to be an idiot…but to refresh your memory just in case," taking a card from his hand, Ronin slid it into his graveyard slot, watching as a white aura went floating off of the artic dragon, wrapping itself around Reku's machine. "Now your Jinzo has its attack power reduced by 500 points! (1900/1200)"

Jinzo crouched down onto one knee as he was being slowly drained of energy. Looking up, the android looked on as the two serpent like monsters on Ronin field slowly twisted around his body. The newly summoned ice like snake came charging at it with full force, clamping is mouth around the torso of the machine.

"Snow Serpent destroys Jinzo with one fool-proof swoop!" Ronin cried out, the monster clamping shut completely, shattering the machine into tiny data bits. Floating aimlessly, the particles began to vanish into the white fog that was beginning to work its way through the air.

Reku-2900 LP  
Ronin-1700 LP

"Your punishment isn't over yet!" Ronin cried out, whipping his arm through the air. From behind the snake emerged the ice carved dragon, sending an artic wind from deep in its throat racing towards Reku. "Frost Dragon attack Reku directly!"

Shielding himself, Reku growled as the snow and ice raced around him, crashing into the wooden floor beneath him and sending out another wave of white fog. Completely covering Reku in the artic steam for a second, the fog dispersed slightly to show Reku standing there glaring at Ronin, his life points adjusted accordingly.

Reku-1300 LP  
Ronin-1700 LP

"See what you get for playing poorly. I will wipe you out real soon if you continue. Now," taking a card from his hand, Ronin instantly inserted it into his duel disk. "In my second main phase; I activate the magic card Silent Doom. With this card, I special summon one normal monster from my graveyard to the field in face-up defense mode. I choose one of the cards I've discarded instantly from my hand; Takriminos (1500/1200)."

A scaly, green monster appeared over a horizontal card on Ronin's field next to the two snake-like monsters. Hissing with is needle nose like face, the new lizard monster crossed its arms and webbed hands across its chest to provide itself a shield.

"My turn is over…"

"You really aren't pulling any punches I see." Reku placed his hand on his deck, watching as Ronin nodded slightly.

"No I am not. My Snow Serpent will prevent you the use of magic and trap cards during the battle phase so you can't even top deck a trap to help you. Though he would need a monster to be face-up defense position on my side of the field during my stand-by phase in order to stick around." Ronin pointed to his newly summoned lizard. "That is where Takriminos comes in."

"So the set card must be to protect your little sea serpent." Reku observed, pulling the top card from his deck and flipping it over so he could see its face. "I set two cards face-down on my side of the field, and then summon Existence Automaton (1300/1300) in attack mode on my side of the field."

Two face-down cards rippled into existence before Reku, and a vertical turned monster card before them. From the card shot up a strange quadruped machine monster. The rectangular base was covered in wiring and flashing lights. On the back of the machine was a large glass dome with a strange, metallic colored brain inside hooked up with various wires and metal plates.

"Existence Automaton will give me 200 life points for each card on the field." Reku began, counting the number of cards there were with his finger. "I have two set cards plus my monster, and you have three monsters and your set. That is seven cards total and 1400 life points for me."

Reku-2700 LP  
Ronin-1700 LP

"Plus, if we are holding the same number of cards." Reku held up the last card in his hand, looking at Ronin's single card in his hand as well. "I gain an additional 500 life points."

Reku-3200 LP  
Ronin-1700 LP

"Now for the last card in my hand." Reku slid the card into his duel disk, the image of it appearing behind his four cylinder legs of the machine. The image of it was that of a large fan with flaming feathers on it. "Flame Fan. With this, because my monster is a fire type, I can transfer his defense points to the attack points. (2600/0)"

On the top of the glass dome appeared a large, flaming fan. Waving back and forth slightly, the embers from it came raining down on the machine below it.

"I can also use its second power, destroying one set card on my field and removing it from the game" Reku slid out one of his set cards, flipping it up to reveal it as Holy Fire, "I am capable of destroying one set card on your side of the field!"

"Not if I use it first!" Ronin shouted as a blaze of flames came streaming off of the fan. Racing towards the set card, it crashed helplessly into the wooden floor below where the now upright trap card set. "Zero Gravity activate! When it does, it shifts the positions of every face-up monster on the field to the opposite battle position!"

"No way!" Reku watched stunned as his large quadruped machine crouched down slightly, the orange bordered card appearing below him. On Ronin's field, the two snow-esque reptilian monsters crouched down over their orange bordered cards as well. The green lizard monster stretched out however, its card vanishing as it came to attack mode.

Growling slightly, Reku bowed his head. "I end my turn."

"Now we are talking, you getting into the game more." Ronin placed his hand on the top card of his deck. "I will take you down with you fighting at full force. Draw!" Snapping the card off his deck, he whipped it through the air and pointed it, brown back to Reku, at his ice snake. "Since I have not one, but two face-up defense position monsters on my field my serpent is allowed to live."

Behind the three monsters appeared a vertical brown-backed card with a flash of light. Hissing, the Snow Serpent and the Frost Dragon also stretched out, their cards vanishing from beneath them.

"I set one card face-down on my field, and shift my two monsters into attack mode." Pointing to Reku, Ronin smirked darkly. "This is where it ends."

"You're wrong Ronin." Reku bowed his head, smiling slightly. "This is where it all begins. Trap card open! Threatening Roar!" The set card on Reku's field flipped up, blasting out stream of jagged yellow waves that raced across the field. Growls, hissing, and moaning came from Ronin's three monsters as the waves of sound passed them by. "When I use this card you are not allowed to conduct a battle phase this turn."

"Damn you." Ronin growled, sliding his hand down to his duel disk. Shifting his Takriminos card horizontal, his monster bowed down onto its once again visible card. "I shift my remaining monster into defense mode and end my turn then." Clenching his fist he waved it towards Reku. "You think your safe! You are just stalling and it won't work forever. Just try to get away from my wrath again. It will not work…this I swear to you."

"Dramatic much?" Reku sighed, sliding the top card off his deck and glancing at its face. "I start my turn off by summoning Flare Ninja (1500/1200) to the field, defense mode! As I am sure you remember, when my ninja arrives I get to call my Flare Samurai from my deck and place it on the field, also in defense mode (1500/1200)."

A black and red suited ninja appeared from behind Reku, twisting in the air slightly before landing on its knee before its master. Crossing its arms, it peered out at Ronin with its masked eyes. Next to him, in a shower of lights appeared a red and black armored samurai warrior. Unsheathing its swords, it also crouched down on one knee and braced its sword, with its blade facing outwards, across its chest.

Reku shuffled his deck, sliding it slowly back into his duel disk. Looking up, he saw that now he had just as many monsters as Ronin did, just not as powerful of ones. He would have to make his 2600 beat stick count for now.

"I shift Existence Automaton into attack mode, and sent him into battle with your Snow Serpent! Go, Fan Gusts of Embers!" Reku cried out his attack, his four legged monster jerking forward with its command. From the flaming fan a wave of embers came flying off, raining down on the snow snake. Within moments the monster exploded into dust and smoke, sending even more white fog across the field with its destruction.

Reku-3200 LP  
Ronin-1100 LP

"Dammit." Ronin cursed under his breath as he slid the card into his graveyard slot. With a slash of his arm after releasing the card he had the top card of his deck between his index finger and thumb. "Since you have no other cards in your hand or on the field, it is my turn. And I shall play this!" Ronin grabbed the one card he was already holding and slid it into his duel disk.

A holographic image appeared in a ripple of light before him, sending out a cloud like atmosphere from its image. From there he took the card he had drawn, sliding it into his removed from game play slot on his duel disk.

"This magic card is called Dream of the Ensured and it allows me to draw two more cards once I remove from play one." Sliding two more card from his deck, Ronin grinned slightly before bringing them back to his face. Confirming their contents, he flipped the cards over and showed Reku what he had drawn. "When Dream of the Ensured lets me draw, I must show you. But I gain 300 life points for each monster in my hand with seven or more stars. In this case, I have one."

"I see." Reku nodded, scanning the two cards in Ronin hands. One was indeed a seven star monster known as Blizzard Sorceress. The other was a magic card titled Pot of Greed.

Reku-3200 LP  
Ronin-1400 LP

"And the first thing I shall do is activate my Pot of Greed." Ronin, flipping the card with ease in his hand, inserted the magic card into his duel disk. Drawing two more cards from his deck, and fanned them open to see their faces. Smiling, he picked up the two monsters on his duel disk, slapping down the monster card he held. "I make a double sacrifice in order to call out the queen of ice; Blizzard Sorceress (2500/1200)!"

Rising up behind the two monsters on Ronin field, the orange bordered card began to glow, sending out two long, white arms. Dangling from these arms were ice crystals, as well as snow like essence felling from the skin to the ground. The two hands grabbed onto the back of Ronin's two monsters, dragging them into the card image. Vanishing behind the cardboard's edge, the monster's life force was drained, being turned into the energy needed to summon out Ronin's newest monster.

From the card burst a stream of snow white light, producing a beautiful, but odd, woman. Her skin was completely what, icecicles hanging off various parts. Her hair was long, flowing and light blue in color, matching her icy eyes. Her torso and legs were covered in dark blue robes, releasing an artic mist from between its overlapping folds. Smiling slightly, the woman sent chills down Reku's spine with how ghastly the expression looked.

"Now for the fun part. Blizzard Sorceress attack now! Destroy his Existence Automaton with your Icy Spell!"

Cupping her hands together, the icy woman began to blow into them, scattering what appeared to be millions of tiny snowflakes all across the field. Raining down on the machine monster, they soon created a large mound of snow on top of it, crushing it instantly. A fiery explosion blasted out from inside the snow drift as the monster was destroyed, causing the snow to scatter across the shrine.

"What the hell?" Reku questioned, watching his monsters destruction. Looking up, he saw the holographic numbers of the Blizzard Sorceress had changed. (3500/1200)

Reku-2300 LP  
Ronin-1400 LP

"My Blizzard Sorceress has a special power that allows it to gain an additional 1000 attack points, whenever it battles a creature of fire that is." Ronin smirked, his monster giggling slightly with her powerful advantage (2500/1200). "And with that, I'll end my turn right there."

"_Lovely, now I have to top deck something good or I'm screwed."_ Reku growled, looking down at his deck. He didn't have any cards in his hand to make a combo with. His two flare monsters were on the field defending him, but if he couldn't turn this around soon, they would be gone. "DRAW!"

Swirling yellow lines engulfed the crouching ninja and samurai monsters, sucking them up into a blast of light. Dying down, the light revealed a large, gum metal monster resting on Reku's field. Parts of the inners between the metal plating were navy blue panels. On the arms and head of the monster rested three, long barrels, aiming directly at Ronin and his Blizzard Sorceress.

"I sacrifice my Flare Ninja and Flare Samurai in order to summon out my Barrel Dragon (2600/2200), attack mode!" Before the large dragonic machine monster appeared three Egyptian style coins, hovering a few inches off of the ground. "And now for his effect to kick in."

"_NO!"_ Ronin yelled in his head, watching as the coins began to spin faster, preparing themselves to be launched high into the air. _"If two of those three come down as heads, my monster will be destroyed. And he will be free to attack me directly for the win."_ Slowly, Ronin curled his fingers into a fist. "I won't let you Reku."

"Huh?" Reku stopped mid motion, preparing to wave his coins off as they began to flip. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, I will stop you. Trap card activate; Forced Energy Backlash!" Rising up, Ronin's set card began to glow, sending a beam of light cutting through the air and crashing into Reku's monster, causing it to moan and creak. (Barrel Dragon 3400/3000) "Forced Energy Backlash equips to an effect monster, giving it 800 more attack and defense points, but negating its effects."

"I see." Reku nodded slowly as the three coins began to evaporate into the fog like surroundings. _"There was a good chance that I could have won there. Dammit, Ronin is determined to drag this out as long as he can."_ Sighing, Reku lifted his arm, pointing towards the icy woman on Ronin's field. _"I guess I should have guessed he wouldn't go down without a fight."_ "Barrel Dragon attack! Destroy his monster now with Revolver Shot!"

Creaking and moaning, the three barrels of the monster locked onto the female wizard resting on Ronin's field. With a loud bang, a huge bullet came blasting out of the barrel, destroying the Blizzard Sorceress within seconds.

Reku-2300 LP  
Ronin-500 LP

"I can still win this Reku, I won't let you walk all over me that easy." Ronin glared down his opponent as the orange boarded monster that was just destroyed vanished into the darkness that was the cemetery of the duel disk. "And now it is time for me to take my move, since your resources are all gone. Draw!"

With ease, the top card of Ronin's deck was snapped off, winding through the air. It was instantly inserted into his duel disk, causing a card hologram to materialize inches before his feet. Seconds later, a second face down card joined it.

"I set two cards on my field, and end my turn."

"_He has no monsters to defend himself with. But I can't rule out that he doesn't have _something_ that can stop my attack."_ Reku growled, placing his hand on his deck. Sliding the top card off, he flipped it over so he could see its face. _"Well, this is a start I suppose."_ Like Ronin did, Reku slid the card into his duel disk behind his only monster card, the image appearing face-down behind his machine. "I set a card face-down on my field."

Taking aim, the Barrel Dragon knew what was coming next. Ronin cringed slightly at the sight of the three barrels pointed directly at him, but stood strong.

"Barrel Dragon, attack Ronin directly with your Revolver Shot!"

"Just what I wanted!" Ronin yelled out, one of his set cards rising up. "Draining Shield is a trap card that gives me the attack force of the attacking monster as good ol' raw; life points. And it also nullifies the attack."

"No!" Reku watched in horror as a transparent lime green barrier appeared around Ronin. His monster's mechanisms going off a second later, blasting a red hot bullet into the surrounding shield, being absorbed faster than the human eye could register. Shimmering slightly, the barrier around Ronin broke apart, but his duel disk began to beep as the second effect kicked in.

Reku-2300 LP   
Ronin-3900 LP

"Now that the duel is back in my favor, I must thank you." Ronin bowed mockingly, angering Reku. "I have just that many more life points to crush you with."

"Just take your turn already. I am finished with mine." Reku growled, his Barrel Dragon moaning and creaking as it rested its barrels down in front of it.

"Ahh, don't go off crying now Reku," Ronin taunted as he slid the top card from his deck and flipped it over, "I'm sure it doesn't mean you a bad duelist because of this. It just means that you are weaker to me."

"You sure weren't this talkative a few minutes ago." Reku shook his head. "Not when you were actually losing in life points and field advantage. Now its just field advantage alone since I've got my massively powered Barrel Dragon on the field. Thirty-four hundred attack points is plenty to hold him there for a while as well."

"Wrong." Ronin pointed to his set card. "It won't hold him there very long at all! Set card open; Offerings to the Doomed. This card destroys one face-up monster on the field, at the cost of me drawing during my next draw phase."

In a blaze that erupted from the feet of the mechanical dragon, a horrendous noise raced through the walls of the shrine. Watching as the metal literally melted away, Reku watched helplessly as his machine was destroyed effortlessly before his own eyes.

"Now, I just summon my Ice Covered Wall (100/2600) in face-up defense mode and end my turn." Ronin called out, slapping one of the two cards in his hand onto his duel disk. Before him, a large crystal like wall raced up. It stretched from one side of the shrine to the open wall on the other side of the duel, going from floor to ceiling. From through the clear barrier, Reku saw Ronin smiling wide with sinister pride. He knew he was untouchable for a little bit now.

"Alright, if you say so Ronin." Reaching for his deck, Reku calmly placed his fingers upon the top card of it. "Draw!" He announced, snapping the top card off and winding it back so he could see its face. Growling slightly, he slapped it down onto his duel disk, the machine sending waves of light rushing through its joints. "I summon Warrior of the White Flame (2000/0), attack mode!"

The new monster arrived on the field, dispersing the ghastly fog that had developed as his metal boots hit the wooden floor. The warrior was slim and tall, wearing old, beat up armor that covered all of his body save his human face. In his grips was a thin, double bladed sword with white fire licking off the edges.

"And I end my turn with that."

"What's that matter, not going to weaken my monster with yours?" Ronin chuckled, holding up his duel disk to show Reku the card laying horizontal on it. "You do know the effect of my monster don't you?"

"Of course I do. Every time it's attacked, its defense points drop by 600. I am just going to wait it out thought, rather than taking unnecessary battle damage."

"Whatever." Ronin scoffed, rubbing his chin with the back of his hand. "Well, because of Offerings to the Doomed, I am prevented from drawing this turn, giving me nothing to play. Your turn again."

"That is what I was hoping for." Reku smirked, placing his fingers once again on the top card of his deck. _"Now I just need to draw a monster card. Any fire monster at all. Come on!"_

With a snap of his wrist, Reku freed the top card of his deck and sliced it through the air. Bringing it to a stop, the card rested face-down between his fingers on his outstretched arm. Bringing back his arm, he retrieved the card and glanced at its face. Smirking, he looked back up at Ronin.

"Alright, it's time this game gets taken up a notch, what do you say buddy?"

"Sounds good to me." Ronin nodded, a smirk growing on his face. "I was starting to grow bored with this current duel as it is anyways. I could definitely use some excitement."

* * *

Ryokurio growled as he rested his head against his steering wheel of his truck. The pickup was stuck now, cars jammed in all along side of him, to the front and to the back as well.

"We'll never get to Reku at this rate." Joe, who along with Kevin where Ryokurio's two passengers, moaned as well, looking at the traffic jam they had gotten in. "Of all the days to get stuck in traffic, this has to be the worst."

Sighing, Kevin rested his head against the passenger side door, as he was sitting on the outside of Joe. "It's just our luck I guess."

"Are you ok Kev?" Joe turned to his buddy, looking rather concerned. "Ever since you lost to Thoth you've been kind of depressed. Please tell us if something is wrong so you don't end up like Ronin."

"No, no. It's just…" Sighing again, Kevin ran his fingers through his hair. Looking back at Joe and Ryokurio, he continued to speak. "Thoth just had a lot of force behind him. The duel wore me out is all." Hesitating, his eyes dropped down to his pocket. "Well…that's not entirely the truth either."

"Well do share." Ryokurio jumped in. "It's not like we have anywhere to go."

"Alright." Reaching into his pocket, Kevin grabbed something and pulled it out. Holding it up, the two other guys could see it was a glass jar with something inside of it.

"Is that…" Both Ryokurio and Joe started as they looked at the object within Kevin's fingers.

Behind the guys in Sachiko's car, the females of the group were in the same traffic lock as the guys before them. Akina, who was sitting in the front seat next to Sachiko, sighed and looked down at her clasped hands.

Popping over the seat, Usami rubbed Akina's shoulder slightly. She knew that Akina was worried about Reku, and just needed to be comforted.

"Don't worry Akina." Sachiko joined in, reaching over and placing her hand on Akina's intertwined fingers. "We'll get there. And Reku will be fine. After all of this, I still doubt that Ronin would do anything to drastically stupid to one of his best friends. If anyone can set him free, it's Reku. He's strong." Gripping tighter, Sachiko caught Akina's gaze. "He'll make it."

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Blizzard Sorceress**  
2500/1200/7/Water/Spellcaster  
Increase the ATK of this card by 1000 points during the Damage Step when this card battles a FIRE Monster.

Ronin: "Blizzard Sorceress is a powerful monster, especially in a duel such as this. Gaining an attack of 3500 when facing down any fire monster, it can take on some pretty strong foes easily. Though it is level seven, making it slightly more difficult to use, but still handy. Its frozen power is enough to help me!"

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	23. Answer the Voice Rising from your Heart

Episode 23: Answer the Voice Rising from your Heart

With a snap of his wrist, Reku freed the top card of his deck and sliced it through the air. Bringing it to a stop, the card rested face-down between his fingers on his outstretched arm. Bringing back his arm, he retrieved the card and glanced at its face. Smirking, he looked back up at Ronin.

"Alright, it's time this game gets taken up a notch, what do you say buddy?"

"Sounds good to me." Ronin nodded, a smirk growing on his face. "I was starting to grow bored with this current duel as it is anyways. I could definitely use some excitement."

"Great, but before I get too deep into my turn, my standby phase activates the ability of my Warrior of the White Flame, dropping his attack by 500 and upping his defense by the same amount." Reku pointed to his warrior, who indeed had a stat change (1500/500). "And now for this magic card!" Reku announced, sliding his drawn card into his duel disk, almost instantly it appeared before him, glowing brightly. "Oil Drilling!"

"Oil Drilling?" Ronin cocked an eyebrow as Reku reached into his graveyard slot, pulling out one of the cards it held. Holding it up, Ronin could see that it was Reku's Existence Automaton. "What are you doing?"

"Oil Drilling allows me to take one monster with a fire attribute from my graveyard and place it into my hand, and so I chose my Existence Automaton." Reku smirked, slapping the card down onto his duel disk. For the second time this duel, the dome topped android appeared before Reku (1300/1300). Glowing brightly, its effect kicked in. "As you should remember, my monster gives me 200 life points for every card on the field. That is four, so 800 more life to me!"

Reku-3100 LP   
Ronin-3900 LP

"And now to reveal my set trap!" Reku cried out as his life points shot up. Flipping up, the purple bordered card showed the image of a large, metallic looking device with a fixed hose at the end. Two shadowy figures were manning the machine. "Two-Man Flamethrower!"

Appearing overtop of the domed monster, the incredibly heavy device fell on it, connecting itself instantly to the top of the machine monster. Running up behind it, the Warrior of the White Flames grabbed a hold of the handles on the back, helping with leverage to aim the mighty cannon. (3800/1300)

"Let me explain how my trap works." Reku smirked, watching as Ronin wiped a bundle of sweat from his brow. "This card combines my two monsters together as one basically, as long as they are both fire monsters. The effects of the monsters are negated, and the attack and defense of the monsters become added together."

"But that would make your monster 3300, 2000 plus 1300. How did you get 3800 from that?" Ronin accused, pointing to the new combination.

"Simple, Two-Man Flamethrower adds an additional 500 attack onto the combined stats. The catch is that now they are one monster occupying two zones and a magic and trap card zone. So if any of the cards are destroyed, they all go bye-bye." Reku swiftly whipped his arm across his body, thrusting it forward to the ice wall that stood between him and Ronin. "But that is the least of my worries right now; right now my monster will tear down that wall of yours! Fire Flamethrower!"

Squeezing the trigger, the monsters let a stream of flame gush from the tip of the hose, racing across the field and smashing into the smooth surface of the ice wall. A massive wave of steam came from the impact point, filling the shrine completely in the white fog. For a few moments nothing at all was visible outside of the outline of the stream of fire. When it finally cleared, Ronin's field was left completely bare.

Sliding his card into his graveyard slot, Ronin looked up with a pleased grin on his face. "Well, this indeed will make the duel more interesting."

"_I hope it ends it soon…"_ Reku growled in his head as his monsters crouched down slightly, resting the flamethrower after their attack. "Alright, I end my turn. With that move, I have brought down your only wall. What will….what _can_ you do to stop my monster now?"

"I can do a lot, watch!" Ronin yelled, sliding the top card from his duel disk, sliding it into his left hand with his card that was already sitting there. "Firstly I shall set this card face-down so it can be used in a bit." Taking his previous card Ronin slid it into his duel disk. Appearing face-down before him as a card hologram. "Next I shall replenish the batteries of this duel, as well as our hands. Go Card of Sanctity!"

"_That should help me as well."_ Reku thought, pleased with the help. His hand had been running on dry for quite a while, so the hand boost was well appreciated. Sliding a bundle of cards from his deck, Reku fanned them open, revealing exactly six.

Scanning over the six cards that he had fanned out, Ronin analyzed what he could do. Smirking, he pointed to his set card. "Open set card; Necro Sacrifice! This card allows me to give you a monster from my graveyard, in exchange for tributes I need. So I shall give you this…"

Appearing in a blink of the eye and a flash of warm yellow light, a green, slimy monster appeared next to the duo monster already on Reku's field.

"Takriminos (1500/1200). Now how would you like it special summoned? It's you choice to the mode in which it comes."

"Then I shall put it in defense mode." Reku announced, the green skinned monster crouching down over its yellow bordered card. _"Now he gets to summon a one tribute monster from his hand…what is he planning?"_

"Rise up; Ice-Rock Golem!" Ronin cried out, the fog on his field beginning to swirl together in a massive twister. From this, a large ice like gargoyle emerged, crashing onto the wooden floor of the shrine and howling with its appearance. Its big, bulky limbs shimmered as the monster moved, crouching down and crossing its arms across its chest. Human shaped, but the head of the monster was pulled back, twisted into a more fiendish image (0/3000). "Defense mode."

"Another defender?" Reku cocked an eyebrow at this new one. It was only 400 points stronger than the last, but it was a tribute. "What good is that really going to do you?"

"A lot, why don't you let me just finish my combo before you get to talking your trash." Ronin picked up another card from his hand, sliding it effortlessly into his duel disk. "Quick-play magic card; Defensive Curse. When there is two or more defense mode monsters on the field, I can use this card. We both take 500 points of damage to our life points, and all defense mode monsters are placed in attack position."

Reku-2600 LP   
Ronin-3400 LP

Groaning, the large rock monster stood up straight. Following, the little green lizard did the same on Reku's field.

"_What is he planning...? __His tribute monster is now is weak and vulnerable.__"_ Reku groaned, looking at the evil smirk on Ronin's face as he pulled a new card from his hand and slid it instantly into his duel disk.

"Magic card; Quick Summon go! This card allows me to have an extra summoning this turn, and I choose to bring forth my Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness, attack mode!" (1800/1500)

Appearing next to the golem appeared a dark, navy blue warrior monster, wielding a golden spear. Swiping it through the air, the monster took a battle stance as a brown backed card appeared behind its feet.

"Setting one more card, I shall use the last card in my hand. The permanent magic of White Blizzard!" Rising up, the magic card began to glow before calming itself into just resting in the settling fog. "With this card, whenever your monster is destroyed, an additional 600 points of damage will be rewarded to me. So now you are in huge trouble. Go my Warrior of Darkness, attack Takriminos with your darkness lance!" Thrusting his arm forward, Ronin sent his dark blue monster into battle.

With a powerful grunt, the monster jammed his arms forward, sliding the spear tip effortlessly into the gut of the green beast. Crying out in immaculate pain, the monster shattered into tiny data bits that fell to the wooden floor.

Reku-2300 LP   
Ronin-3400 LP

"Activate White Blizzard, take a chunk of his life away from him!" Ronin roared, slicing his arm across his body. Within moments the green bordered card sent a massive gale of snow and ice barreling across the field and crashing into Reku. Shielding himself, Reku tried his best to not be toppled over by the incredible power the card seemed to have.

Reku-1700 LP  
Ronin-3400 LP

Reku couldn't help but feel the bone chilling cold that came from the magical blizzard. Gritting his teeth, Reku felt his body relax the mere second the storm had passed. Looking up, he finally began to take back in the surroundings. Ronin was laughing, overly pleased with himself. The fog of the area was starting to settle again, being stirred up by the violent fight that was raging between the two friends.

"Alright Reku, your turn." Ronin announced, watching his opponent struggle to gain back control of his frozen arms. _"It's only a matter of time now Reku, I will win this fight and prove my power over you." _

"_Ronin is really trying to push the limits of this duel."_ Reku looked up, the numbness in his arms turning into a painful tingle as warm blood began to flow through them again. _"But I will not back down. I have to win, for his sake."_ Pulling the top card from his deck, Reku added it to his hand of cards before looking down to see what he had. _"At least Ronin gave me a full arsenal to work with. This should help, I would think."_

* * *

  
Joe, cocking an eyebrow, looked quizzically at Kevin. Behind him, Ryokurio was giving an interested, but not as dumbfounded stare.

"Why the hell are you carrying that around still?" Joe asked, making Kevin grip the jar in his hands tightly. "I mean, I know what it was, and I know it was incredibly rare, but now it's gone and there is nothing you can do about it."

"I know, I know." Joe wanted then and there to retract his words. It seemed like he didn't quite understand Kevin as the young man looked like he was about to be in tears.

"Sorry Kev, I didn't mean to hit a sore spot…"

"No, no." Kevin, taking the bottle and putting it back into his pocket, shook his head to try and comfort his friend. "Its ok, I understand where you are coming from when you say that. But you just don't understand what that card meant to me."

"Well, like I said, we got nowhere to go. Why not try to explain it to us." Ryokurio smiled warmly at Kevin to try and reassure him that it was alright to trust them.

"Yeah, how did you get your Blue-Eyes exactly?" Joe threw in, making Kevin sigh. The subject of their conversation drifting to the torn up cardboard pieces inside the small glass jar.

* * *

"Ronin!" Reku cried out thrusting his arm forward towards his foe. "You've left yourself wide open for the punishment that will ensue. Attack now my monsters, take out his Ice-Rock Golem with the dual flamethrower!"

Taking aim with their metallic gun, the two monsters of flames prepared to launch their massive attack on the zero offense monster that rested on Ronin's field. Pulling the trigger on the machine, the stream of flames burst from the nozzle and raced towards the crystal golem.

"You should know better Reku." Ronin whipped his arm across his body, his set card flipping up. "I wouldn't have tried that if I wasn't prepared to deal with your monster. Trap card; Negate Attack activate!" From the up righted card, as Ronin announced its name, a large violet twister burst out, sucking up the flames that were coming at his monster. Twisting them around, it became a tornado of flames before completely dispersing into the fog of the shrine. "My trap card stops the battle, and ends your battle phase." Ronin smirked, his two monsters completely safe.

"_But he still used up his set card, which is an accomplishment for me."_ Reku silently congratulated himself for this. Reaching to the seven cards he held, he pulled one of them out and slid it into his duel disk. "Alright Ronin, on my second main phase I'll activate the magic card; Hole in the Plan. By removing three monsters from my grave, one for each star level above four, I can summon a high level monster from my hand."

His graveyard ejected three cards that Reku instantly snatched up and flipped over to show his opponent.

"Flare Ninja, Flare Samurai and Robotic Knight I remove from play to summon the seven star monster; Mech Dragon Blaster!"

Bursting from a column of flames and light that erupted before Reku, a large, green scaled dragon landed onto the fog covered wooden floor of the shrine with a loud thud. Whipping its jaw back, the monster let out a ear piercing roar that revealed the large, metallic cannon covering the throat of the hybrid beast. Metallic panels and multi-colored wires were racing across and into the skin of the monster, all the way down to the tip of its tail (2500/2000).

"And doing thus ends my turn." Reku called out, his dragon roaring once again, as the two other monsters' on Reku's field held up the cannon in preparation of any possible attacks.

"So that is all you can do. Well your time is up, as now I can't be stopped." Ronin smirked darkly as the top card was freed from his deck and placed into his hand. _"The first card on my way up the staircase that will provide me the answers I seek."_ Ronin smiled at the face of the card before looking up to Reku. "Alright, my two monsters are placed on the defensive and I am done with my turn."

Groaning, the two monsters fell to their knees on top of their horizontal card images. Crossing their arms over their bodies for protection.

"Draw!" Reku yelled, sliding the top card off his deck and whipping it through the air. Though his eyes never even grazed the card image, instead they were narrowed, focusing in on his opponent. _"He seemed a bit too happy to be just going onto the defensive. His Sea Serpent has only 1500 defense, while his Ice-Rock Golem in 3000 points strong. My two monsters can easily take those out, but what did he mean that now he can't be stopped."_

"_You will see that your attempts are in vein soon enough Reku."_ Narrowing his own eyes at his opponent, the already wide smile on Ronin's face stretched out further and further. _"Attack me!"_

"Mech Dragon Blaster, your target is his Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness; go now with Mechanized Flame Ball!" Reku thrust his arm forward, his large dragon spitting out a large roaring sphere of fire that ripped through the fog with ease. Smothering the dark colored warrior in the flames, it instantly disincarnated.

Without his arm dropping, Reku continued to call out his attack. "Warrior of the White Flame and Existence Automaton attack his Ice-Rock Golem! Duo Flamethrower!"

With a nod of agreement, the Warrior of the White Flame pulled the triggers on the handles he held, sending another stream of flames racing across the field at the large statue monster on Ronin's field.

Ronin though wasn't even reacting. Sliding his Sea Serpent card into his graveyard, Ronin didn't even bother to look up when his large monster was hit with the river of fire. Gushing around the sides of the monster, a huge blast of steam added to the fog of the area, cutting all visibility completely down.

Then Reku heard Ronin burst out laughing. He glared hard at the spot where he guestimated his opponent to be, wondering what was so funny. With the fog dispersing, Reku saw that his attack had done absolutely nothing to the ice statue, who still sat completely unharmed on Ronin's field.

"What the hell…" Reku watched as Ronin quelled his laughing fit again.

"It's obvious isn't it? While my Ice-Rock Golem is in defense mode, it's invincible. No attacks can penetrate it." Ronin held up his arm to show the card on his duel tray. Indeed, it had a orange border of a effect card.

"Dammit." Reku cursed, sliding a card from his hand into his duel disk. _"He really did have a plan to drag this out...how long _does_ he intend to drag this out?"_ The card image appeared before Reku's feet in a blast of light. "I set this face-down, ending my move."

"So that's all you've got." Ronin smirked as his new card was placed in his hand. "Well you are lucky that I pass this turn. I'll just wait until you prove you are duelist enough to get past my wall."

* * *

Akina sighed again for the one hundredth time in the past five minutes. Resting her head between her hands, her elbows resting on her knees, she let another sigh course through her teeth and lips. Seeing her best friend sigh for the uncountable time in the past five minutes, Sachiko reached over and rubbed her shoulder.

The traffic situation had loosened up some, but not an incredible amount. The car of girls had managed to stay behind Ryokurio's truck in the blockade of vehicles.

"It's alright hun, Reku can take care of himself." Sachiko tried to reassure her friend again.

"I know, I know. You've told me that over and over again in the past five minutes." Akina threw back, lifting her head from her hands and clasping them together in her lap. "I get the point already."

"Well, you seemed like you needed another reminder." Sachiko laughed, giving a warm feeling to her friend. Her gaze soon drifted back to the tailgate of Ryokurio's pickup that sat before them on the street. "I understand how you feel though. Of all the bad guys and opponents you guys have faced, the worst enemy always is one that you've considered a friend."

"Yeah, did Ronin make you guys ever suspect that he was this jealous of Reku and you?" Usami leaned over the bridge between the two front seats, looking deeply into Akina's eyes. "I mean, I always thought the four of you were the best of friends growing up, and even though Sachiko and Ronin have had their issues, I never would have dreamed that Ronin would be this furious against you."

"It's Dementia's fault." Akina sighed, looking away from Usami. "If she hadn't used her power to break down all of Ronin's barriers, his heart wouldn't have been flooded with all this doubt and hatred at once. Then he would still be our friend and we could focus on taking out Freyr."

Usami and Sachiko looked at each other before Akina looked back to the group. Silent prayers for their fallen friend were exchanged between them. The mixed feelings they were all feeling being shared in the seconds of their eyes locking.

In the truck ahead of the women, Kevin took a deep breath before speaking to Joe and Ryokurio.

"It was a gift, from my father." Kevin then lost the ability to keep any eye contact with them. Looking off out of the window of the truck, he continued to speak. "I've had it since I was young, and it's, or was, all I had left of him. One day, he was in a horrible accident that claimed his life. Before that, he had given me this card, and told me to use it well. I loved this card as much as I loved my father, cause once he was gone, it was the only thing that reminded me of the great man he was."

"So to you, that card was like your father's substitute when he was gone. Even though it was rare and powerful, you probably would have felt the same if it was any other card." Ryokurio examined, getting a rather slow, sad nod from Kevin. "Well, even though that was years and years ago, I guess that everyone will always carry a niche for the rest of their life."

"Yeah, I guess I hadn't realized that your Blue-Eyes was so much like your father to you. It must have been horrible watching it ripped to shreds before your eyes. And that arrogant bastard laughing."

"You have no idea…" Kevin sighed, watching as traffic slowly made a lurch forward before stopping again.

* * *

"Oh don't you worry Ronin, I will tear down your wall." Reku announced, placing his hand on the top card of his deck. "You just wait. Draw!" With ease, the top card was pulled from his deck and placed before his eyes. Smiling, he slid it into his duel disk. "I'll set one more card face down, and end my turn."

"So you really can't do anything against me huh?" Ronin smirked, pulling the top card off his deck and putting it to his face. _"This card will help, if I get one more card I can use from my deck next turn."_ Ronin looked from the card face to his opponent. "Alright, I'll store this card for later, letting you have another crack at my wall."

"My turn then." Reku announced as he pulled a new card off of his deck and held it to his face. _"Still nothing I can use to break through his defense."_ Reku growled, adding the card to his hand to make a total of six. Bowing his head slightly, Reku growled out; "I end my turn." The stalemate had begun to push his temper a bit.

"So this duel has been brought to a stand still it seems." Ronin smirked as he again slid the top card off his deck. Without looking at it, he continued to glare down Reku. "You have offered me a fantastic display of power Reku. But so far you have proven only that I _am_ superior to you. And once I beat you, I'm going to take out the next person who stands in my way of greatness." Narrowing his eyes as the card between his fingers came slowly towards his face. "Akina."

"You'll never get your chance to duel Akina, cause I am going to win right here." Reku yelled back, making Ronin smile darkly, denying any attempts Reku made to scare him.

"It won't work." With the twisted smirk plastered on his face, Ronin's eyes drifted to the card he held. "Destiny is holding me at a cross road it seems. The truth is told of what my life seems to be, and what it _used_ to be."

"What?" Reku's expression turned into a worried, confused frown. _"What the hell is he talking about?"_

"Here we go!" Reku watched helplessly as Ronin slid the new card into his hand, moving his fingertips across the tops of his cards until he stopped over one. "I shall use this card to clear my way to victory! Magic card go!" Snapping the card from its place in his hand, Ronin sliced it through the air and slammed it into the slot on his duel disk. "Dark Hole Activate!"

"Dark Hole!" Reku's eyes widened as he realized just what his opponent was doing.

Between the two duelists a large, gapping black vortex formed, spiraling clockwise as it grew bigger. The black hole began to suck up everything, destroying it in the endless void that rested at its center. The fog of the room was stirred up, being pulled like dirt towards the suction of the vacuum that was the Dark Hole. The monsters too weren't safe, as all four monsters and the large metal flamethrower were dragged helplessly into the whirlpool of darkness.

"Oh no, it gets better." Ronin held up his Ice-Rock Golem card, smirking darkly as he did. "The second part to my monsters effect kicks in right now. When he is destroyed via magic, trap or monster effect, he automatically destroys one card from your hand." Sliding the card into his graveyard slot, Ronin thrust his finger towards Reku. "So toss one card from your hand!"

Growling, Reku looked down at what he had. Pulling out one card, he slid it into his graveyard slot before looking back up at his opponent who was pulling one of the three cards he still held in his hand out.

"I activate the magic card that wills the road of destiny. It is time for you, Reku, to make the choice of what path shall be walked down. I activate: Choice of Fate!" With the name announced, Ronin slid the card into his duel disk which instantly lit up with the data it was receiving from the card. Before Ronin in a ripple of yellow and white light, the holographic image appeared.

"Choice of Fate?" Reku looked at the card with curiosity. "What does that do?"

"It lets you choose one of the cards in my hand." Ronin smirked. Shifting the two cards from his left hand to his right, he held them out for Reku to see the backs of them. "If you choose a monster card from it, I get to special summon it to the field instantly. Now here's the catch," Reku groaned, knowing that this wasn't going to be so easy. "No matter which one you pick, I get to summon a monster, but the choice of which is up to you. In my hand, I hold my past and present. The newest card in my arsenal, the Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon, and my oldest powerhouse, Levia-Dragon – Daedalus!"

"So no matter what I do, I'm going to be facing down an incredibly strong monster." Reku groaned, slowly studying the backs of the two cards in Ronin's hand. Lifting his arm slowly, he thrust it out. "Alright, I choose…." Hesitating, he let his arm slightly drift downwards as he reconsidered his choice. _"I really wish I knew what Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon did…"_

"Hesitation is a sign of weakness, Reku." Ronin's sentence made Reku's eyes widen. "Are you proving that you are weak? Second guessing your 'skills' and instinct?"

"No…" Reku denied, though his voice was shaky, hard to keep in check. "…I just…"

"Are being weak and scared. It's alright, I perfectly understand…" Ronin shrugged, making Reku take a step backwards, the wooden floor creaking with the shift in weight. "You can't face down an opponent if that opponent you know very well is incredibly more powerful than you."

"No, I can't face down an opponent who considered to be my best friend!" Reku shouted, slicing his arm across his body to his side. "I cannot face you in a pointless battle with courage when there is no backing to it. No matter what, we both are going to lose this, because it's an empty war!" Taking back the step he lost with his fear, Reku stood tall against his foe. "I cannot fight someone who I looked up to so much in my life. It hurts me to see you, someone who I considered so strong already, become so weak."

"So I'm considered the weak one again." Ronin chuckled slightly, shrugging again at his opponent's ruse. "Reku, you'll never change. You've always seen me as weak in comparison to yourself, but no more. I'll show you what your so called 'empty war' is. It is the foundation to my future, my destiny, and my answers. So if this is so empty to you, does that mean that I'm nothing to you as well?"

"Didn't I get through saying I didn't consider you weak!" Reku yelled, stomping his foot on the ground as he did to stop Ronin from continuing further. "Not until you backstabbed us and sold your soul for power. I realize that its Dementia's doing, but it was your anger and hate that is feeding your passion now. I want to save you, but this is your doing, so I really have no choice but to fight you here, and take you down." Snapping his arm up again. "So I will take my chances here, and let fate dictate the outcome of this match. I choose; the right card!"

Closing his eyes, and bowing his head, Ronin took in the peace of the area before lifting his head again. Pulling the card Reku chose out, he held it out to his side as the remaining card found its resting place in Ronin's left hand again.

"So your empty war huh?" Ronin looked from the card to Reku. His eyes filled with an odd, twisted justice, and his voice found the strength from deep within his soul. He almost seemed sad. "You have spoken about me like you've considered me your better. Where as, I thought after a while, we were equals. But more and more I began to notice how much I was wrong. You weren't my equal, or my inferior by any stretch. You were superior to me in many, many aspects.

"Akina too I saw growing rapidly to your level. But my growth seems slow, painfully dull. I can't, I couldn't, keep up with you two. I tried to hide it, keep in the pain of knowing I was nothing to you guys. I played pretend that we saw each other as equals. I played pretend that my life was alright. I played pretend that I was strong enough to take care of myself. I wasn't back then though, I had no real friends, I had no love, I had no job or even a place I could call home! But you,"

Ronin's eyes darted back to the card Reku chose himself. Pulling it in, he looked upon its face as he continued his speech.

"You had everything. A beautiful girl to call your own, great skills as a duelist. Good friends, and rivals. And you know where you belong; you have place to grow in. And you didn't need baggage like me tagging along. So with your own hand, with your own mind, with your own luck, you've chosen what path destiny wants me to walk. The card you've chosen is..."

Whipping his arm back, Ronin launched it forward, slapping the card into the center slot on his duel disk. The emerald green body began to glow as rainbow colored light raced through its joints.

From below Ronin, a huge up rush of wind gusted, whipping his cloths violently in its wake. Speckles of sparks began to fly out from the tornado of air, collecting into a massive ball of glowing light above Ronin's head. Around the sphere a rainbow colored aura formed, ripping violently into the air around it.

"BLUE-ICE WHITE NIGHTS DRAGON!" Ronin screamed into the day, the ball of energy exploding outwards, and covering the whole inside of the shrine in a brilliant, multi-colored light.

Reku growled, shielding his eyes from the massive rush of light that flooded into his vision. His ears soon picked up the cracking that sounded like ice breaking under warm water. A horrible roar also rushed through the wooden shrine as the large, ice like dragon to form on Ronin's field. Un-shielding his eyes, Reku gazed upon the large behemoth of a monster that now took up the space above Ronin's head.

With an impressively wide wingspan, the dragon monster took up the area from wall to the open end that extended out over the lake. Its body was shiny, carved completely from thick ice. Its needle like nose came down in front of its clenched ice teeth. Its two eyes glaring down Reku.

From the mere summoning of the monster, a wave of artic fog seemed to have flooded the chamber once again. The monster's body was producing it by the bucket loads, creating a snow white aura around the monster as it did. (3000/2500)

"No…I made the wrong choice apparently." Reku mumbled under his breath, glaring at the monster that he now had to face. Looking down, Reku saw that Ronin was incredibly pleased with the monster he had summoned.

"So Reku," He began, crossing his arms the best he could with his active duel disk still on his left arm. "Seems that destiny has chosen you to face my strongest ice card now. Being totally immune to magic and trap cards that target him, and capable of drawing any attack towards him." Snapping his finger up, Ronin pointed directly at his newest monster. "Look good Reku, you now see the card that feeds from my heart! The card that is the mere collection of all my hate, my anger, and my rage, placed in 3000 attack points, all aimed at you!"

"So this card is your heart huh?" Reku closed his eyes, smiling slightly as a small tear came to the corner of his eye. "This is the card that represents all of the anger and hate you harbor inside of you."

"Reku! This is done! Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon; direct attack!" Ronin thrust his arm forward, his dragon's mouth ripping open and a stream of artic white energy came blasting out.

"Then by the means to save you." Opening his eyes slowly, Reku tilted his head up to look at the oncoming attack. "To truly be victorious in this duel." He slowly moved towards his duel disk. "I must defeat that monster!"

"You know none of your traps will work, right?" Ronin yelled out, seeing Reku reaching for his duel disk.

"No, you said no traps would target him. This one won't. Trap card open!" Reku's finger rested on the button on his duel disk. One of the two face-down cards on his field flipped up, sending out a massive pulse wave as it did, colliding with the oncoming stream. "I cannot lose yet; I must try to stop what you have set against me. Trap card: Flash Flame Shield!"

"What will that do?" Ronin cried out, waiting for Reku to elaborate on the effect.

"It will save me." Reku announced, pulling out the stack of cards that was his graveyard. "I get to special summon one monster of fire from my grave to the field. So I shall choose to special summon this," Reku held up one of the cards. "Thing in the Crater, defense mode (1100/1200)."

From behind the pulse wave that was keeping the ice attack at bay, a large, stone wall jutted up. In front of this wall sat a small pool of lava that bubbled and smoked. A strange growling noise echoed out from a small, blackened cave at the bottom of the stone wall, just above the lake of fire.

"That thing won't stop me!" Ronin screamed, thrusting his arm forward. "Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon, finish your attack! Wipe that pest off of the field!"

Nodding slightly, the ice carved dragon increased the force of its ice like blaze, busting through the barrier easily and smashing into the small monster, causing it to be disintegrated instantly.

"Lucky for me, my monster was special summoned in defense mode." Reku smirked as he slid the card into his graveyard. "Now here is were you will kick yourself. Flash Flame Shield only works for one turn, so my monster would have gone back to the graveyard at the end of this turn. Instead, you chose to attack it, and trigger its effect to special summon one pyro monster from my hand to the field."

Whipping one of his five cards out of his hand, Reku slapped it down horizontally onto his own duel disk. In front of him where the monster had just previously set, erupted a small remaining piece of the pool of lava. From it, a large, snake like creature shot up, hissing with its arrival as it floated up above the wooden floor for a few seconds while a orange bordered card materialized beneath it. (1500/1000)

"So I have chosen to summon my Solar Flare Dragon in defense mode." Reku announced, his monster again hissing with its name being called out. The flames that raced down its red rock body erupted outwards in a display of power. "You see how you've bit yourself in the ass this time Ronin?"

"Not in the least." Ronin smirked, lowering his head. "So you've gotten another monster to use against me. And if I remember correctly, it has the power to burn me as well. But that doesn't mean that you have any sort of advantage over me." Snapping his head up, a superior grin was smeared across the lower half of his face. "You cannot win!"

"Ronin!" Reku cried out, slicing his arm across his body. "I can win! If fate wanted you to win this, why was I able to protect myself from your strongest card? The card that represents you? Do you know why?" Curling his fingers into a tight balled fist, Reku shook it through the air at his opponent. "Because fate is still giving me a chance to overcome the fate that you think is set before you. I still can shatter your delusional image of how our friendship is."

"We shall see Reku." Ronin's eyes narrowed, glaring at his opponent. "We shall see indeed."

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE  
**  
**Oil Drilling**  
Magic  
Return one FIRE monster from your graveyard to your hand

Reku: "This time, the card of the episode is fairly simple. This card, Oil Drilling, allows a player to return one monster that is of the fire attribute family from their graveyard to their hand. Very handy in recycling those old cards that you need. A The Warrior Returning Alive for fire only monsters, very handy indeed!"

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	24. The Heart’s Road of Destiny

Episode 24: The Heart's Road of Destiny

"Ronin!" Reku cried out, slicing his arm across his body. "I can win! If fate wanted you to win this, why was I able to protect myself from your strongest card? The card that represents you? Do you know why?" Curling his fingers into a tight balled fist, Reku shook it through the air at his opponent. "Because fate is still giving me a chance to overcome the fate that you think is set before you. I still can shatter your delusional image of how our friendships are."

"We shall see Reku." Ronin's eyes narrowed, glaring at his opponent. "We shall see indeed."

"Yes we will, as it is my turn, draw!" Reku yelled, ripping the top card off of his duel disk and through the fog covered air, creating a rushing current of vapor in front of his arm. "And I summon my second Solar Flare Dragon!" Reku yelled, sliding the newly drawn card into his and yanking out an old card from it. Slapping it down horizontally on his duel disk, the cards data was read instantly.

Next to the first, the large red rock like snake monster appeared over its orange bordered card. The mane of golden flames erupted fiercely as the two Solar Flare Dragon's nodded to one another, surrounding themselves in a thin layer of flames. (1500/1000)

"And now their first effects kick in!" Reku thrust his arm forward, his fingers outstretched so his palm pointed to his creatures. "When I have a monster that is of the pyro family on the field, Solar Flare Dragon cannot be attacked. Unlucky for you, Solar Flare Dragon itself is a pyro monster, making it so that now you can't attack me at all!"

"You can't stall forever Reku." Ronin growled, looking down at the one card in his hand: Daedalus. "I will get past your monsters, somehow."

"You probably will." Reku nodded in agreement. "Until then, you're stuck. And so I end my turn, causing their seconds effect to kick into gear!" Thrusting his arm forward again, Reku this time pointed directly at Ronin. "Burn attack! Solar Wind Destroyer!"

With the orders given, the two snake creatures sat up, glaring at the opponent. Opening their mouths wide, blades of flames came rushing out from deep within the monsters' throats, cutting through the thick fog barrier and slamming into Ronin, sending him flying backwards against the wooden wall of the shrine.

Reku-1700 LP  
Ronin-2400 LP

"Each of my dragons deals you 500 points of direct damage during my end phase." Reku explained, his two monsters crouching down again after their effects subsided.

"Even dealing me 1000 points of damage won't bring me to my knees." Ronin growled as he slid the top card off of his deck. "Not when I am so close to my goal. Not when I am so close to beating you." He spoke with anger in his voice. Slowly making his way back to his previous spot on the wooden floor, he slid the card he drew into his duel disk. "I will win this yet….I set this face down ending my turn."

Inches from Ronin's feet appeared the card hologram of the set magic/trap card he just played.

"So this battle continues then." Reku sighed, sliding the top card from his own deck and adding it to his hand. _"If I keep him locked like this for three more turns, I will win by burning him out. Though I doubt it will really be that easy."_ Reku growled as he added the new card to his hand. "Alright, I end my turn so my dragons will go! Solar Wind Destroyer!"

Once again the two monsters opened their mouths sending blades of flames ripping from them and cursing through the air towards Ronin. Shielding himself, Ronin was better prepared this time to stand up to the blistering attack that ripped through his world and his life points.

Reku-1700 LP  
Ronin-1400 LP

Regaining his balance, Ronin placed his hand on the top card of his ever dwindling deck. This duel had dragged on for quite some time, and his deck was growing exhausted. "I will not give up though." Ronin growled, sliding the top card from his deck and holding it in his right hand.

The card that rested at Ronin's feet flipped up, showing a cemetery with the image of purple, ghastly fog drifting out of the stone monuments. The title of the card in big white letters read; Call of the Haunted.

"My trap card activates, allowing me to special summon one card from my grave to my side of the field. Prepare yourself Reku, cause I'm about to end this duel right here."

"Try it." Reku growled, watching as a ring of light formed on the field before Ronin.

From inside the ring of light emerged a large fanged, blue skinned monster that took Reku by surprise. Its long flowing, fish-like tail wrapped around its large, blob like body with the razor sharp teeth jutting out from the powerful jaw. (1500/1600)

"I choose my Unshaven Angler, the first monster in my graveyard!" Ronin cried out, making Reku step back with the appearance of the new monster. "Ah, what's the matter? Didn't remember when this card was thrown into the graveyard? Well, remember my Frost Dragon?"

"Frost…Dragon…" Reku placed his right hand on his chin as he tilted his head down towards the fog covered floor.

_Flashback_

_/"Fine." Ronin growled again, placing his hand on the top card of his deck. "It is my turn now, draw!" Once the top card was pulled from his deck, he instantly grabbed another card from his hand without ever putting down the new card._

_Slapping the one from his hand onto the duel disk, a holographic image of Ronin's card appeared. Lighting up the shrine with an incredible shower of light, a large, ice carved serpent dragon appeared. Hissing, the monster looked around with its beat red eyes while flexing around its long neck. Four, thin, arms with razor sharp claws at the end of the paws connected with the wooden floor of the shrine. (1600/1200)_

"_I'd like to introduce you to my Frost Dragon, Reku. He is quite the looker wouldn't you say." Ronin smirked, with the drawn card still in hand as he spoke, he quickly placing it at the entrance to his graveyards slot. Sucking it in, the card vanished into the darkness. "And by discarding one card from my hand, his power kicks in. He drains one monster on the field by 500 points."/_

_/End Flashback/_

Reku's eyes widened as he remembered the events of the first move of the game. _"He sent Unshaven Angler to the grave all the way back then…I never even bothered to check the card he discarded!" _

"So it seems you have a good memory now of where this card came from in this duel." Ronin smirked as the drawn card was added to his hand. Pulling out his other card, Ronin held it up by his face. "And if you truly have a good memory, you should remember what this card in my hand is. You had to choose between it and Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon."

"Daedalus…"

"Oh you are a sharp one aren't you?" Ronin yelled, slapping the card down onto his duel disk. "I sacrifice Unshaven Angler, which counts as two tributes for a creature of water, to summon forth; Levia-Dragon – Daedalus (2600/1500)!"

Ripping violently from the wooden floor of the shrine, a blast of red light engulfed the large piranha monster, changing the structure of the beast into a large, blue serpent dragon that flowed out around its master. Its four, blood red eyes scanned the two crouching flame dragons on Reku's field, causing it to smirk and bare all of its razor sharp teeth in its superiority to them.

"So Daedalus does indeed rise in this duel." Reku narrowed his eyes, glaring at the two monsters that rested on Ronin's field. "_It almost seems like a crime against nature to see Daedalus sitting there next to that beast…that Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon. Ronin's conflicting heart drawn in an image before me, showing me his past and present faces of his soul."_ Reku closed his eyes, taking all of the tragedy in. _"You can't help it can you Ronin. Daedalus is crying. He longs for the old you. The old you that was friends with it. Best friends!" _

"Magic card." Ronin held up his emerald green duel disk, the field magic slot pulling open. "A Legendary Ocean!"

"A Legendary Ocean!" Reku's eyes widened, his hopes getting crushed instantly. _"If he would have played that, it would have reduced the level of all water monsters in his hand by one level, making Daedalus a level six and only one sacrifice needed to summon it. He could have sacrificed his Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon, but he refused to. He's grown loyal to it…and the darkness in his heart."_ Bowing his head, Reku felt a wave of sadness flow through him. _"Does that mean that my attempts are in vain…will I never be able to save you from the fate you have chosen?" _

"Do you really want to believe you came here to save me from some horrible fate?" Ronin asked, getting Reku's attention immediately.

"Now you're a mind reader!" Reku cocked an eyebrow, getting a chicken-shit grin from Ronin.

"No. You're face game me all the indication I needed to tell what was going on inside your mind. You're torn because you believe that all you have done is worthless. And maybe realizing that what you believed to be an 'empty war' actually has meaning to one of us." Waving his arm through the air, Ronin pointed to his two dragon monster that hovered around him. "I have summoned up all my power, all my courage to face you now Reku. I need answers! I will get answers from you! You will tell me all I need to know, by conversing with me through your dueling skills in this turn."

"What!" Reku's eyes widened with Ronin's sudden outburst, watching as the large blue sea-serpent began to glow in a violent red aura, sucking up water particles being produced by Ronin's newly activated field magic card. _"Is it possible…that I was wrong about this fight? Does Ronin want more than to just prove his power over me…over Akina…?" _

"I activate Daedalus's effect, sacrificing A Legendary Ocean which counts as Umi, to destroy all card upon the field." Ronin cried out, his duel disk ejecting the green bordered magic card instantly. "This of course means you will be wide open for my attack."

"No Ronin, I won't." Reku stated, looking up at his opponent with narrowed eyes of confidence. "I'm not sure anymore what this duel is really about. But I know one thing. I promised you I would be going all out, and I never break a promise. Trap card open; Counter Process Machine!"

"Say wha…" Ronin watched as the trap card, as well as Reku's two monsters was swept away in a massive red sea that was produced from the aura racing off of Ronin's Daedalus at an increasing pace.

It wasn't long before his own cards were swept away in the violent storm before it subsided completely.

"Counter Process Machine works like this." Reku explained, holding up his duel disk. "When the opponent activates an effect of a monster card, I gain 1000 life points by activating this card, as well as gain a level four or lower monster back from my grave to my hand."

Reku-2700 LP  
Ronin-1400 LP

Snapping his duel disk horizontally before him, Reku grabbed the card that was ejected from his graveyard and slid it quickly into the fanned out cards of his own hand.

"You just won't let this end will you?" Ronin asked, snapping his own arm forward. "Daedalus attack Reku directly with all of your force! Torrent Rage!"

A mighty bellow came from deep inside the mouth of the serpent, from behind the rows of razor sharp teeth. Blasting from the maw of the beast, a massive stream of water engulfed Reku instantly, pushing his body limply back against the wooden wall behind him. A loud thump echoed from the impact, making Daedalus stop its assault, smirking darkly as it watched its victim come into full sight.

Tired and drenched in the holographic water, Reku fell forward slightly, catching himself before falling all the way to the floor. Looking up, Reku narrowed his eyes at Ronin who stood now, arms crossed, with his large monster hovering up behind him. Reku also noticed that the force of that last attack knocked not only the wind out of him, but the dirty fog out of its path, sending it streaming off of the battle field and out the open side of the temple. Drifting slowly across the surface of the lake, Reku couldn't help but note how eerily beautiful the scene looked.

"_Beauty does rise from the ashes of tragedy." _

Reku-100 LP  
Ronin-1400 LP

"I am done with my turn Reku." Ronin uncrossed his arms, letting them rest at his side. _"I knew Reku wouldn't give up so easily. There is more duel left to come. It won't end just like that. But Daedalus is my final straw. It will pull me through this." _

"_Alright. Keep cool."_ Reku slowly walked back to his place on the dueling field, sliding the top card off of his deck and looking at its face. Looking back up at Ronin, Reku slapped the card horizontally on his duel disk. "I summon Dekayak the Mech Warrior (1600/1500) in face-up defense mode on my side of the field."

Before Reku in a blast of light appeared a large, skinny, human like figure crouching down over its yellow colored monster card. Before its metal armored chest were four arms make completely out of machines were crossed one over the other to protect itself form any attack. On the head of the blue skinned monster rested a crown made of golden horns jutting upwards then curling in.

"Quick Summon Activate!" Reku cried out as a green bordered card appeared behind his strange new monster. "If you don't know, Quick Summon allows me to gain another summoning this turn, so I chose to call out Alpino the Mech Warrior (1600/1500), also in defense mode!"

Next to the first monster, a second yellow bordered card appeared with a blast of light. From it, a pure metal man appeared kneeling down with two, long swords crossed before its body. On its head, a plate of metal waved up off the helmet of the man, creating a decorative design with a small hole going completely through it.

"I'm sure you remember that when Dekayak and Alpino are both on the field at the same time I get to combine their powers to make a new monster of even greater power." Reku smirked, pulling one of the cards from his hand out and holding it up so that Ronin could see. "I sacrifice them both in order to call out; Mechanoid Chrome Guardian (2800/2700)!"

"No." Ronin took a step backwards, watching as the two creatures on Reku's field vanished with an incredible ray of light. Blasting out of the pillar with a swing of a long, wide double bladed sword emerged a human like figure clad in solid golden armor. Landing on the field, the monster was wider than a normal monster, but still muscled out and incredibly powerful looking. Its face was hid behind a golden mask, but from the darkness that was the eye holes, Ronin could see two beady eyes glaring down him and his Daedalus.

"Chrome Sword Slicer!" Reku cried out, slicing his arm vertically through the air as he sent his monster barreling into action.

"No…no dammit…no." Ronin's eyes widened as the gold suited warrior wound the sword back above its helmeted head, slicing it down instantly and crashing into the skull of Daedalus. "NO!" Ronin cried out, watching as the monster before him began to jolt violently, his data flying off of his body with every jerk. Finally, the large snake monster exploded into a massive pool of data fragments, causing Ronin to fall to his knees.

Reku-100 LP  
Ronin-1200 LP

"You felt pain, huh Ronin?" Reku asked as his monster lunged back to its master's field, bringing the sword down to its side. "You claim to be a slave to the darkness within you, but you can't escape you love and connection to your Daedalus. It is a part of you."

"When did I say I wanted to?" Ronin asked, his eyes filled with a sudden anger. "I could care less about Daedalus getting destroyed as a monster itself!" Ronin yelled, bursting up from his position on the ground and slashing the duel disk through the air wildly. "You still don't understand what this fight is really about do you?"

"All I know is that I promised to go all out to let you find the answer yourself." Reku closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath to calm himself. "No Ronin, I really don't know what this whole fight means to you. I thought it was to prove your superiority to me. But you seem to insist that there is more to it. So for your sake I keep fighting, and fighting my hardest at that. Isn't that what you want?" His eyes peeled open as he asked, to a very sad faced Ronin. "What is the matter?"

"This whole fight meant nothing to you still." Ronin held up his duel disk horizontally before him. Placing his middle and index finger on the top card of his deck he continued to stare at his opponent. "You should know what it is like when you are fighting for something you believe in, and no matter what you try, in the end the opponent destroys all your hope. Daedalus was my hope to beat you, and you crushed it in a mere turn. You have denied me my victory through him. Through my Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon. Through any card.

"Though you have offered me something since the start of this duel that I knew about, but refused to grab onto." As Ronin spoke, the top card of his deck was slowly being pulled off. "You were offering me the answers to the questions I had brewing inside of me. But I refused to accept them until you could back them with proof. So I continued to fight on to see if I could really beat you. At any moment you would have thrown the duel if you believed that would "save" me.

"I've talked a lot about 'fate' deciding the outcome of this duel, haven't I Reku." Ronin suddenly changed the subject, looking down at the face of the card that he new held in his hand. Looking up, he saw Reku nod slowly as he waited to find out what else Ronin had to say. "Well, let's put that to the test shall we. I propose that the outcome of this duel be dealt with by chance."

"Fine by me Ronin." Reku agree, watching as Ronin slid the card into his duel disk.

"Just know Reku that I used to think of you as my best friend. And though you weren't the best duelist when we were younger, you still were a better person than I. Still are actually. So I've looked up to you more than you really know."

"I never really considered our friendship over Ronin. It doesn't have to be, the darkness inside of you has been let out into the open. We could deal with this."

"No, we can't." Ronin watched as a ripple of light appeared before him. "Because this decides everything, the loser won't have enough energy left to breath. It is time to drowned one of us in the river of destiny. Magic card activate: Chaotic Waters of Life and Death!"

With a blast of energy, the card came into full form before him. Glowing with a bright yellow light, the cards effect took into action, causing Ronin's graveyard to eject the stack of cards that rested in it. Snapping the top card off, Ronin held it up high above his head for Reku to see.

"I chose my Levia-Dragon – Daedalus."

A stale, transparent image of the blue sea serpent came floating out of the card held above Ronin's head, drifting down until it became a solid streak of azure colored light blasting into the back of the brown backed card on his field. A blue aura blasted up around the magic cards, as electrical bolts zapped all across the face of it.

"This infuses my Chaotic Waters of Life and Death with 2600 points. Now I select three cards from my deck and you will chose one of them. Depending on what you chose will determine the outcome of this game." Ronin explained as he pulled his deck out of its slot and fanned it open, looking for three cards to use.

"If it's the monster card we will both lose this duel." Reku began, watching as Ronin slapped down three cards onto his duel disk, they appeared vertically before him with a blast of light. "But if I chose a magic card, you lose. Likewise, if it's the trap card that I pick, I will be the one to lose."

"You are right Reku." Ronin nodded, confirming that Reku indeed knew the effect of his card. "So now is the time. Chose."

"Very well." Reku nodded, looking at the three holographic images. _"This duel comes down to this choice." _

Lifting his arm slowly, Reku snapped it out towards the card of his choice. Looking up, Reku and Ronin locked eyes, glaring a blaze of emotions between the two of them. This duel had changed each of them from the first card played all the way down to this choice. And now was the moment of truth.

"I chose the card in the middle Ronin. She me what our fate is!"

A crack of lightning flashed through the dark clouds, illuminating both Ronin's and Reku's faces with the pure white energy. Within that moment, the soft patter of the rain crashing into the wooden roof of the shrine could be heard, as well as the soft splashes on the lake outside the open wall.

The set card Reku had chosen began to lift upwards, revealing its face to the world…

* * *

Akina, Sachiko and Usami watch as the rain pattered on the windshield of the small car. Picking up ferocity slowly, the rain was accompanied by flashes of light illuminating the prosaic clouds across the sky. None of them even jumped with the rolling thunder boomed its powerful voice to the world.

Traffic was still at a standstill, though slowly opening up some and moving. They had come farther in the past five minutes than they had in the past hour.

Still directly behind Ryokurio, the female squad sighed in unison, having exhausted all hopes of interesting conversation. They were also trying to avoid the current situation with Reku and Ronin battling, as well as the movement Freyr was having on the group. To try and keep their spirits up anyway.

Finally, Akina couldn't avoid it anymore. Pulling her deck out of her duel disk that still rested on her arm, she fanned it open and searched through cards until she came to one specific one, the crystal card she owned. Holding it up, she smiled weakly at the face of the powerful card.

"So far I haven't felt any energy spikes from this thing, which means Reku and Ronin have somehow avoided using them against each other." She spoke, getting a bit of joy from the other two.

"Or maybe they decided to not use them to make it a fair fight?" Usami suggested, looking over the seat at the card in Akina's hand.

"Doubtful, they both have one, so technically it is still fair." Sachiko shook her head in disagreement with Usami. "And with the way Ronin has been dueling recently, he's doing everything for nothing but power. So there is no doubt that he…" Sachiko's eyes widened, stopping her mid sentence.

_/Flashback/_

_/"My turn, draw!" Ronin cried out, sliding the top card off of his deck and flipping it over so that the face of the card was revealed to him. His eyes widened slightly before closing, using that energy to generate a dark smirk across his face. "Sachiko, I will prove to you right now that I do not fear you or your dueling skills. You, as well as everyone, will crumble before me. And I shall prove it."_

"_Oh and how will you do that?" Sachiko had to ask, watching as the pleased Ronin pulled a new card from his hand and slid it into his duel disk._

"_Dream of the Ensured. A magic card that allows me to remove from the game one card in my hand. Once I do, I then draw two new cards from my deck and show them to you. For every monster I've draw with seven or more stars, I gain 300 life points. Now to show you the card I will remove." Flipping over the card the he had drawn to start the turn on, he watched as Sachiko grew extremely surprised at the sight of the card. "I will remove my: Sapphire Crystal from the game."/_

_/End Flashback/_

"What's wrong Sachiko?" Akina asked, placing her hand on Sachiko's shoulder. Turning her head, Sachiko looked at Akina before shaking it off.

"…Maybe you are right Usami." Sachiko began, looking back at her. "When I dueled Ronin he tossed his Sapphire Crystal card aside in order to prove his superior power to me. He may have done the same thing to Reku, who might have done the same in the ode of fairness."

"It is possible I suppose." Akina nodded, and Usami agreed also with a single nod.

* * *

Tal stood, arms crossed across his chest as he stood in the small hallway, peering out at the raining world outside. From behind him, the black and yellow haired kid poked his head out to see the rain. Pushing his glasses up on his nose, he peered upwards and the stout man next to him.

"So Tal, when will they be here?" Masuyo questioned, getting a rather stern look from Tal.

"Soon, I hope." Looking back up at the rain, Tal growled slightly. _"They had better. What the hell are they doing? They must be planning to counter attack Lord Freyr, but where are they doing it?"_ Thinking a bit, something dawned on Tal that made him smile. _"Or that brat Ronin got to them first and they are wasting their energy dealing with him. I can only hope that if it is that case that they do some serious damage to one another to help us take care of part of our problems."_ Laughing a bit to himself, Tal didn't even notice Masuyo slinking back into the house they had broken into.

Pitching himself on the couch, he opened a text book with a large picture of a solar system on the front. Sliding up his thick oval glasses once again, Masuyo continued to read.

Tal's attention was suddenly grabbed by a stranger coming up the walk of the house right next door to where they were. Watching him intently, he saw the stranger, who was wrapped in a silver and black cloak; pull a piece of paper out from the folds on his robe and compared what was written on it with what was on the house. Nodding his head of silver colored hair, the man lifted his hand and knocked on the door repeatedly.

Moments trudged by, but no one responded in the house. Shifting his head, the stranger spotted Tal in the doorway of the adjacent house with his two, deep blue eyes. Waving his hand from inside the robe, the man raced across the soaking wet grass to the steps that led up to the house where Tal stood silently watching him.

"Hello mister. I'm looking for a friend of mine. His name is Kiro Rinku, do you happen to know him?" The stranger began, motioning to the other house as he spoke.

"No, I can't say that I really do." Tal spoke gruffly. "Is he a friend of Reku?"

"Reku?" The man tilted his head. "Reku…Yamashita?"

"The same, yes. Are you a friend of his?" Tal growled, getting the slight inclination that this strange man might be another person to stand in his way.

"Oh damn!" The man smacked his head, though mentally he wanted to kick himself. "I knew that guy looked familiar when I bumped into him! I hit a dueling celebrity and didn't even realize it!"

"Hit him…?" Tal cocked an eyebrow as he spoke. "Did you hit him hard enough to give him a black eye, or knock out a few teeth?"

"No, no." The stranger shook his head, smiling dumbly. "I just bumped into him as I was getting off of the bus. He seemed to be in a rush and quite distracted." Looking away from Tal, the stranger stared off into space a bit. "Wow, Reku Yamashita. I wonder if he lives around here."

"Oh he does." Tal answered, getting the attention of the man instantly.

"Where does he live? Do you know for sure?"

"Of course I know for sure." Tal growled, turning away from the annoying man and walking into the house. "Just check the name plate on this house."

"Name plate?" Turning his silver haired head, the man looked at the small plate that set by the doorway. His eyes widened as he saw the name on it: Yamashita Reku and Oshiro Akina. "HERE? They live HERE!" The man jumped for joy, inviting himself in out of the rain instantly. "I can't believe it, I stumbled onto where they live. I'm so luck…hey wait."

"What now?" Tal asked, looking over his shoulder at the pest who was in the hall way. "And why the hell are you still here anyways?"

"I want to know who you people are!" The man yelled, making Masuyo look up from his text book and stare at the stranger. Smirking, Tal turned around and confronted the young man.

"None of your business. That is who we are." Tal spoke gruffly, trying to scare off the stranger with his sheer size, weight and power. "Now go on and get out of here."

"I will not!" The man yelled, grabbing ahold of his cloak. With a swift motion he yanked it off his body and let it float to the ground in the hallway. Underneath he was wearing a matching black and silver T-shirt. Brown straps ran over his shoulder and connected to a tan backpack resting on the back of the young man. "You guys have broken into their home haven't you? Well it is my job as a citizen to deal with this matter. I demand you leave peacefully and return anything you have stolen!"

"We did break in here, but we aren't interested in stealing anything of theirs." Tal cracked his knuckles, walking forward towards the strange man. "We came for a different purpose and I am not going to allow you to stand in my way!"

"I don't remember asking permission." The man narrowed his eyes, crouching down into a battle position to take on the behemoth of a man slowly walking towards him.

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Quick Summon**  
Quick-play Magic  
Normal Summon 1 monster in your hand.

Kaira: "Yay! Its my turn! Though I have been absent from the scene, I'm working hard with Order here to help the demons get better. So I'm playing an important part. Anyways, Quick Summon, a powerful card that allows you to summon another monster from your hand. Being quick-play gives it all sorts of advantages, and think of all the possible combos you can summon up in twos with this card. Amazing to think about! But…who is this new heroic stranger. He seems..somehow…familiar…hmm"

A/N: And thus concludes the battle of Reku and Ronin. All I can ask is: …Please put the gun down. Don't kill me for that one. Listen, I'll make it up to you all, ok? For those of you interested, go check my forum. There should be a thread titled; Team Zero's Program. If you have been a fan of my series, this will be something interesting (I hope) for you to read.

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	25. The Stranger

Episode 25: The Stranger

With a swift motion the stranger yanked the cloak off his body and let it float to the ground in the hallway. Underneath he was wearing a matching black and silver T-shirt. Brown straps ran over his shoulder and connected to a tan backpack resting on the back of the young man. "You guys have broken into their home haven't you? Well it is my job as a citizen to deal with this matter. I demand you leave peacefully and return anything you have stolen!"

"We did break in here, but we aren't interested in stealing anything of theirs." Tal cracked his knuckles, walking forward towards the strange man. "We came for a different purpose and I am not going to allow you to stand in my way!"

"I don't remember asking permission." The man narrowed his eyes, crouching down into a battle position to take on the behemoth of a man slowly walking towards him.

"You may have not asked permission, but you are being asked here." Tal growled as he came closer and closer to the man. "Will you get out now? Or you are apt to get hurt"

"Oh don't threaten him." Masuyo spoke from the couch, throwing himself off and landing on his feet. Pushing up his glasses as he moved around the furniture to stand next to the now motionless Tal. "Technically he is right. It could turn into a bad thing if you get physical here. How about a wager instead." Holding up his hand, he let his index finger point towards the ceiling. "We play a game of, oh say, Chess, or Go, or something with the loser leaving the house and going on with life like nothing has transpired in this establishment."

"That's sounds fine to me, but." Pulling his backpack off his shoulders, the strange man unzipped the top and pulled out a white, Kaiba corp. standard duel disk. "Do you play Duel Monsters? We could settle this with this game."

"I did say 'or something' didn't I?" Masuyo smirked, turning slightly and reaching into the crevice of the couch by the arm of it. Pulling out another duel disk of his own he slid his left arm into it. "Duel Monsters is fine by me."

"I didn't bring you here to duel him. I brought you here to duel and remove Reku and his little bug squad." Tal growled, glaring down at the genius who was shuffling a deck of brown back cards now.

"I know, but a little warm up game couldn't hurt, right?" Masuyo got another growl from Tal before he nodded and backed off, letting Masuyo and the stranger set up in the living room for a duel. _"He is as angry as ever."_

"So what is this about dueling Reku all about?" The man asked, sliding the shuffled deck of his into his duel disk. A beeping noise rang through the living room as his life point counter charged up. "And why would you; 'remove him'?"

"That is none of your concern." Tal interrupted the boy, crossing his arms and leaning back against one of the far walls to watch the duel. "You just focus on the game and not worry about things like that."

"Oh, the world of the professional duelists huh?" Smirking, the stranger gave a playful motion towards Masuyo. "Gotta take out the competition eh? But seriously," standing straight up again, the man placed his hand on his deck. "Breaking into someone's house is not the way to do it."

"Well, I'm not exactly a professional. I'm more interested in Astronomy then I am dueling." Masuyo pointed to the book on the couch. "I am working at becoming one of the best astrologers, and honor my father who was an astronaut."

"Wow, sounds, interesting." The man scratched his chin. "So then, you aren't to good at this game?"

"Oh, no, no. I'm actually quite skilled." Masuyo slid the top couple of cards from his own deck, adding them to his left hand as he did. "As you will see soon enough. I've just decided to do it on the side of my real dreams." Looking down at his hand, he looked up and smiled. "Now why not get this duel under way? I'll even let you take the first turn."

"Oh, why thank you." The man nodded, smiling slightly as he placed his hand on the top card of his deck.

"Let's Duel!"

Man- 4000 LP  
Masuyo-4000 LP

"I shall draw first," The man declared as he slid the sixth card off his deck. Placing it into his hand he pulled out two other cards and placed them on his duel tray. "I shall set one monster in face-down defense position, and cover one other card besides that."

With a blast of light, the two brown-backed cards appeared on his field in a T formation. Looking down at them, he smiled before nodding to his opponent.

"Alright, I end my turn."

"Very well." Masuyo nodded, grabbing the top card off of his own deck and placing it into his hand. "Look out for this, cause it will literally 'rock your world'!"

"Ok, try it." The man smirked, watching as the boy pulled a card from his hand out and slid it into his duel disk.

"Fine, I start by activating the magic card known as Nobleman of Crossout. This card destroys and removes one face-down monster on your field from play. If it happens to be a flip effect monster, we both remove all copies from our decks." Masuyo explained as his hologram appeared on the field.

From the image emerged a large, silver clad knight who raced across the field with his metal feet hardly touching the carpeted floor. Wielding its sword back, the knight stabbed down through the center of the defending monster before vanishing into the air. From the stab wound on the card, a black mist engulfed the whole card, shattering it instantly from the 'poison' that had been injected.

"My set monster was not a flip effect monster." The man spoke holding up the card to show Masuyo. "Golem Sentry has been removed from your way."

"Good." Masuyo nodded as the magic card was pulled into his graveyard. From his hand, he pulled out another card and slid it into his duel disk. "Second magic card of my turn: Devil's Sanctuary! This card will produce for me one Metal Devil Token."

"Metal Devil Token huh?" The man cocked an eyebrow, watching as in a rain of sparks, a small metal statue appeared on the field. It looked to be the shape of a ghost, with long pointed limbs for arms and a floating tail that come off its rounded body.

"Yup, as long as this token is on my field, it will cost me 1000 life points to keep each turn. But if you attack it, the attack of the monster is taken out of your life points instead of mine. However, that is not the reason I brought it to the field. You see, it is special summoned, meaning I still get my normal summoning this turn." Masuyo grabbed on of the remaining cards in his hand and slapped it down on the duel disk. "I sacrifice the Metal Devil Token in order to call forth; Satellite Cannon (0/0)"

Vanishing into a ray of sparks, the token's energy was offered for the tribute. Blasting upwards, the ray of sparks hit the ceiling, rippling as they seem to go through it without harming the actual structure.

After doing this, the room went silent as the man waited for the monster to appear on Masuyo's field. When nothing did, he began to question what was going on.

"So where is your monster?"

"High above the earth." Masuyo replied. Pointing towards the ceiling, he smiled from ear to ear. "You see, my creature hovers high above the earth, protecting it from being destroyed by anything less than eight stars. There my incredible cannon can charge itself up to deal a massive wave of damage to you." Masuyo was pulling another card from his deck as he spoke, sliding it into his duel disk. "But my creature isn't alone up there, not any more. I activate the magic card; Machine Duplication! With this, one Satellite will become three!"

Jerking his deck out, Masuyo fanned it open and pulled two more cards out of it, slapping them instantly onto his duel tray. Letting out two more bursts of light, the duel tray aimed them at the ceiling where they also rippled through space leaving the physical object unharmed in their wake.

"From my deck I can summon two more copies of Satellite Cannon because they are below 500 attack." Masuyo explained as he shuffled his deck, sliding it back into his duel disk when he was done. "But since my monsters are too weak now, I shall end my turn, causing them to charge up!" Masuyo whipped his hand towards the ceiling as he spoke.

(Satellite Cannon 1000/0) x3

"For each of my turns, they gain 1000 additional attack points until I decide to attack with them. So take your best shot now!"

"Interesting deck idea." The man nodded, placing his index and middle fingers on the top card of his deck. "Alright, draw!" Smiling as he held the newly drawn card to his face, the man held up his dueling tray, flipping the card onto it. A wave of lights ran through the device as the monster card was read. "For this turn I summon Grave Ohja, attack mode! (1600/1500)."

A blast of purple smoke mushroomed up from the spot on the floor in front of the man, producing a violet colored creature in its wake. Dark blue bulges were on the creature's forearms, as well as two pair of three razor sharp, gleaming white claws. Dark gray robes that attached to the waste of the monster hung down to its feet, as it stared up at the ceiling with its in-human, pointed head.

"You said your creatures were immortal, but you didn't say anything about being invulnerable." The man whipped his hand skyward. "Grave Ohja attack one of his satellites now! Swift Razor Claw!"

Winding back its arm, the monster slashed forward, sending after-image like pattern off the tips of the claws, racing up and crashing into the rippling barrier that seemed to protect the ceiling from sustaining any harm. A loud beeping from Masuyo's duel disk let the man know that his attack had hit home, sending a smile racing onto his face.

Man-4000 LP  
Masuyo-3400 LP

"So nice of you to allow me the chance to blast you like that." The man bowed slightly, waving his arm across his body. "I am finished now, you may take your turn."

"I shall than." Masuyo grabbed the top card off his deck, wounded but far from out of this game yet. Smiling as he added the card to his hand, he pointed upwards to the ceiling with his now empty right hand. "I once again end my turn, giving my monsters another power boost!"

(Satellite Cannon 2000/0) x3

"Are you just going to keep passing your turns until you build up enough fire power to do something to me?" The man questioned, getting a 'well what did you think I would do' nod from Masuyo, who had to push his glasses up on his nose again from the jerking motion of his head. "Whatever then, my turn; Draw!"

With a jerking motion of his arm, the stranger freed the card off his deck and whipped it through the air. Pulling it back, he looked at its face for a few moments before flipping it over and sliding it into his hand to make a total of five cards. Grabbing one of the other cards out, he slapped it down on his duel disk.

"I will just set this monster face-down on my field, and shift my Grave Ohja to defense mode." The man announced as his purple demonic monster crouched down on it suddenly appearing orange colored card. Crossing its arms the best it could, the monster indicated it was in defense mode. "Now here is the metaphorical kick in the balls, my monster can't be attacked while I have a face-down monster card on my field." Looking down at his duel disk, he looked up with a jack-ass like grin. "And I happen to have one now."

"You won't for long." Masuyo announced, sliding the next card off his deck to begin his turn. "I will destroy it with my cannon. Go…"

"No you won't." The man whipped his arm through the air, causing his set trap to flip up. From it, a large yellow arrow came bursting out, wrapping around the man's set monster and created a barrier of wind. "My set trap activated. A Feint Plan makes sure that you may not declare an attack against a face-down monster. Thus I erected a immortal and invulnerable wall for this turn."

"The odds of you doing that seemed to be quite high, so it was to be expected." Masuyo nodded, actually pleased that his attack was foiled before it got started and that his thesis was proven correct. "Thus I shall set one card on my field," which appeared in a ray of yellow and white light, "and end my turn there. Satellites go! Gain more power!"

(Satellite Cannon 3000/0) x3

"_These Satellites' won't be easy to take down if they keep powering up like that. I'll just have to do by best on this turn to dismantle them."_ The man thought, drawing his next card and holding it up to his face. Looking beyond it, he smiled at Masuyo who was waiting patiently for his move. "Alright then, my turn. And to start if off, why don't I flip my set monster? Medusa Worm (500/600), why don't you come on out?!"

Flipping over, the man's card revealed a large, red holographic worm that shot out of the image of the card, racing up towards the ceiling and vanishing beyond the barrier that led to Masuyo's monsters. Moments later, it returned to the house and landed safely on the man's field, reveling machine parts falling from its gaping mouth.

"Medusa Worm, when flipped up, destroys one monster on your field." The man offered, watching as Masuyo took in what had happened. Picking up one of his monster cards, he flipped it around and stuck it into his graveyard slot. "But that isn't all. Grave Ohja has a special power to deal 300 points of direct damage to you whenever something on my field is flip summoned."

Whipping its arms outward, the Grave Ohja send a stone cold blaze of fire from the air between its arms. Wrapping around Masuyo, the fire created a ring that burned for a few moments before wisping away. Masuyo, who had covered his face, glanced over to his duel disk to see the numbers on it continue to fall.

Man-4000 LP  
Masuyo-3100 LP

"Which leads me into the final main phase of this round. First; the effect of Medusa Worm allows me to flip it back into face-down defense position." The man pointed to his monster that seemed to vanish instantly. With a small blast of light, the brown backed card appeared once again. "And secondly: I will set this card face-down on my field. This ends my turn."

"Not quite." Masuyo lowered his arms from around his head, catching the man off guard with his sudden interruption. "I will have to pleasantly disagree with your last move. Spring my set trap! Dust Tornado will wipe away whatever you happen to have set!"

Flipping up, Masuyo's trap sent out a gale force of wind, spiraling into a twister that pierced through the man's newly set card, revealing it to be a second Feint Plan.

Smirking at this, Masuyo picking up another card from his hand and slid it into his duel disk.

"Dust Tornado also allows me to set another magic or trap card from my hand onto my field." He announced, waiting for his card to materialize onto his field before moving towards his deck. "And now I shall start my turn. Draw!" As he drew, his set card flipped up and began to glow. "And now is the perfect time to reveal my set card then. Meteorain! This card will deal the difference in my monsters attack points and your monsters defense points to your life points."

"Oh no!" The man's eyes widened as Masuyo's trap faded off of the field. Helplessly, he also watched as his opponent whipped his right hand skyward, signally to his two monsters to go onto the offensive.

"Satellite Cannons', decimate his two surviving monsters; starting with the worm and ending with his demon rock beast." Masuyo cried, watching happily as the ripples appeared in the air above him again. From within this ripple shot out two blasts of pure white energy, crashing into the monsters on the man's field and causing them to vaporize instantly in the attack.

Man-100 LP  
Masuyo-3100 LP

(Satellite Cannon 0/0) x2

"My cannons blast you from deep space, gaining power each turn for a massive strike. But once they use their power, they must recharge now, sending them all the way back to 0 attack. Though that isn't a problem for me, as I took you to 100 life points swiftly with no external effort at all." Looking over the cards in his hand, he smirked. "Nothing more is needed for my turn. I am done."

(Satellite Cannon 1000/0) x2

"_His cannons are already starting to charge back up. Lovely."_ The man wiped the sweat off his brow, smiling all the time. "This duel is fun. Though I still know what is on the line. I can't allow you to break into someone's house for any reason. My move, draw!" Drawing his card, the man's deep blue eyes began to twinkle at the sight of it. _"Good to finally see you joining us."_

"_Wonder what he is so happy about." _ Tal questioned, watching as the man added his newly drawn card to his hand and held up the next card he was going to play. _"This guy has played well, but from 100 life points its going to be hard to make a come back. Only a level eight or higher monster can destroy Masuyo's cannon's, who next turn will raise to 2000, making it even harder to destroy. I don't see what this guy could have pulled that would make a big difference. Over 3000 points of difference anyways."_

"Here we go!" The man slapped the card down onto his duel disk, having the hologram appear instantly before him. "I special summon through his effect: Gilasaurus! (1400/400)"

With a blast of light blue light, a small tan raptor monster appeared before the man, growling meanly as it did. The blue aura that had been present at the summoning of the man's dinosaur drifted across the field, creeping into Masuyo's graveyard slot.

"When I special summon my dino, you get to special summon one monster from your grave." The man explained, watching as Masuyo slapped down his third Satellite card horizontally on his duel disk.

"Great, I get back my cannon, but even though you would need a total attack of 1700 in order to finish this duel, I won't take that chance and place my cannon in defense mode (0/0)." Masuyo analyzed as the beam of light raced off his newly summoned card, heading directly for space with its mechanical brethren.

"You are correct; it would take a big attack point monster to defeat your monster, or a squad of mini-attack monsters for now. I activate the quick-play spell card that works only when I special summon something; Inferno Reckless Summon."

"Working on monsters falling into the 1500 or less attack point category, Inferno Reckless Summon will give you two more copies from your hand, deck or graveyard, and I would be allowed to as well if I didn't have all copies already on the field. Interesting ploy, three 1400 attack point monsters."

"Oh, it's worse than that." The man smirked kind of sinisterly as the two identical brown raptors appeared next to the first, hissing as the appeared. Almost instantly though, the monsters were swept away in a digital wipe. "I sacrifice two of them in order to perform my normal summoning for the turn: Tri-Horned Dragon! (2850/2350)"

"Tri-Horned Dragon?!" Masuyo's eyes widened as a large, blue skinned dragon rose up in side the small living room. Growling, the monster tipped its head back, glaring up at the ceiling. On its head was a long, sharp golden horn with two more horns branching off from the sides of it. Revealed with its head pulled back was the crimson red underbelly of the beast. "That is a level eight monster. How could I allow you to summon something like that?" Masuyo calculated, finding this startling development quite strange. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the man sternly. "But even if you can destroy my cannons, you won't be able to finish me in this turn. I still have a high percentage of victory."

"No you don't." The man smirked, holding up on of his remaining two cards. "Magic card; Stop Defense go!"

"No way!" Masuyo looked up at the creamy white ceiling, his brain calculating his pending loss. His zero attack monster moved into attack mode as per the rules of the man's magic card.

"Now to finish this. First: Gilasaurus attack one of his other Satellite's! Raptor Claw Strike!" The man waved his hand forward, his large dinosaur launching off of the floor and disappearing beyond the barrier, appearing seconds later with a group of wires hanging from its jaw. Landing effortlessly on the floor, the raptor spit out the wad of electrical equipment before smirking at Masuyo.

Man-100 LP  
Masuyo-2700 LP

"Go!" The man snapped his arm forward towards his blue skinned dragon. "Tri-Horned Dragon attack his weakest Satellite now! Tri-Laser Arrow!"

Order received, the dragon snapped its powerful jaw open, a ball of white energy building inside of the set of razor sharp teeth. Blasting out, the beam took on a dark blue aura as the tip of the blast formed into a pointing arrow. Racing upwards the laser vanished beyond the boundaries of the room, causing Masuyo's duel disk to beep loudly as the life point total was calculated.

Man-100 LP  
Masuyo-0 LP

"You…you defeated my cannon blast strategy." Masuyo looked down at his duel tray which still had all three of his Satellite Cannon cards still on it. "My overwhelming power was brought down."

"Yes it was." The man nodded, snapping his hand up and pointing to the still open door. "Now get out."

"Fine." Tal growled, moving out the door into the much lighter rain that was still falling from the heavens. Behind him, book in hand, Masuyo trudged out of the house deep in thought. Snapping his head up, he looked back into the door way where the man stood, putting back on his silver and black cloak.

"Hey, who are you anyways?" He called back, causing the silver haired man to look up surprised.

"They call me Ryota, Chao Ryota." The man, Chao, smirked as he responded, taking a gallant pose in the hallway of the house.

"Chao huh?" Masuyo turned, and continued to walk after Tal who had only slowed his pace, but hadn't stopped. Waving his hand Masuyo called back to Chao. "Remember this, one day I hope to meet you again, and when I do, my strategy will defeat you."

"Well it was a fun duel." Chao smiled, closing the door to Reku's and Akina's house as he spoke. "So I'll look forward to it."

* * *

Akina didn't even wait for Sachiko to come to a full stop. Throwing open her passenger side door, she blasted out of the small car and raced down the slippery grass slop with the small wooden shrine never once leaving her eyesight nor her mind. The rain continued to fall on her body and face, making vision sometime wet and difficult, but she refused to blink any more than she had to.

Traffic had finally picked up and they had all made it to the shrine finally. Watching as the young woman barreled down the hill, Ryokurio, Usami, Sachiko, Joe and Kevin looked at one another before taking off running after the woman.

"_Reku, Ronin. Please, both of you. Be safe, be alive."_ Akina was panting hard as she finally reached the few steps that lead up to the platform with the front door. Not even really touching any of the steps, she leaped upwards onto the platform and grabbed the large bamboo sliding door, ripping it open and throwing herself inside.

Her eyes grew wide at the sight she saw. It wasn't what she had expected to see at all.

"NO!" She screamed, echoing out through the air and making the small group that was on her tail move even faster. Racing up the stairs, they all joined Akina, everyone completely baffled.

Before them was a completely empty room. No one was here anywhere.

Akina's eyes began to water up as she collapsed to her knees. "Why aren't they here. Weren't they supposed to duel here? Where are they? Where are they!?" She demanded, falling forward and smashing her fists into the wooden floor. "Reku…Reku…what happened here. Where are you Reku?!" She screamed, her face barried against the cold floor of the shrine.

"Did they go somewhere else to duel?" Joe asked, looking around.

"From the sound of it, Ronin wanted to duel here." Sachiko explained, looking over at Joe who just shrugged. "Though I suppose it is possible they chose a different location to duel at."

"Or maybe the duel is over already?" Ryokurio speculated, making the whole group look at him as he rubbed his chin with his finger. "I mean, we were stuck in traffic a hell of a long time. They could have finished and left already."

"But were we caught that long?" Kevin questioned, getting a nod from Usami who was frowning deeply, her eyes filled with sadness. "But if they have finished their duel already…who won?"

"That is a good question." Ryokurio tilted back, poking his head through the door and looking around. "I don't see any vehicles here. Of course, Reku was on foot. Did Ronin have a vehicle?"

"Yes, his black car." Sachiko confirmed, bending over and rubbing Akina's back. "He sped off in it after he clobbered me. So if its not here, then maybe Ronin won and drove off."

"But then where is Reku?" Joe questioned moving slightly over when Kevin pushed past him to crouch down next to Akina as well. "Did he go with Ronin, or did he take Ronin's car?"

"I…don't know." Ryokurio admitted, pulling his head inside and running his hand through his damp silver hair. Grabbing the door he slid it shut as he turned back to the crying mound on the floor that was Akina. Sachiko was rubbing her back while Kevin was just sitting there looking on.

"It'll be alright dear. It'll be fine." Sachiko tried to comfort her friend, finding that Akina probably wasn't even listening to her words. She was completely lost in her thoughts. "At least we didn't find a body or anything. Which is hope that they both walked away from this thing alive. After the way Ronin was acting, I was almost scared of what he would do."

"Yes, hope." Joe said, looking out the open side wall of the temple towards the glistening lake outside. "But we can't assume anything. Not yet. We don't know of anything that transpired here."

Her eyes burning red from crying, Akina squeezed her fingers into a tight ball as she continued to have her head laid against the wooden floor of the shrine. _"Reku…Reku…Reku…please, answer me Reku…where are you? Why don't you answer me Reku…?"_

* * *

"Damn them." Seki cursed, slamming her fist into a tree growing in a patch of dirt on a sidewalk, that was being used to shelter her and Akiaki from the pouring rain. The two of them had large bumps on their heads from where Joe had walloped them after lying to force them into duels. "That bastard made a complete fool out of me!"

"Yup, all you." Akiaki blankly staired up at the gray clouds that were spitting waves of soft rain down onto the earth. "Not like anyone else here was humiliated by them."

"Your right." Seki turned from the tree, clenching her fists into balls. "I was the only one that took any punishment. I'll crush them under my financial power!"

"Don't your family and lawyers and such actually need to know that you've been released from the hospital? Conscious for that matter." Akiaki turned, looking at the dumbstruck girl that was standing next to him. Slowly bowing her head, she gave out a little noise that indicated 'yes'. "You know, thinking about what Joe said to me, maybe he was right."

"Huh?" Seki's head shot up, looking at the young man who was again staring off into space. "You are going to listen to advice from that snot nosed punk?!"

"Yes, and maybe you should too." He turned back, just in time to catch the completely insulted look dawning Seki's face. Wheeling back, she thrust her hand forward slapping Akiaki right across the cheek. "OUCH!" He yelled, grabbing at his burning flesh.

"Don't order me around!" Seki screamed, stomping her foot on the pavement that was below the tree. "I do what I want. When I want. How I want. And you get no say in it you poor worthless piece of scum on this Earth!"

"Gee, I love you too Seki." Akiaki tenderly touched the spot where she had slapped him with her bear like swing. Looking seriously, he stared down at the shorter girl. "But honestly, Joe was right. We have been granted a second chance at life. If we report back to that demon thing, the three of them are liable to rip our heads off and attach them upside down to our necks. Why don't we just get out of here? Go home and forget about all of this. We can get on with our lives and not get involved in this." Looking down at the duel disk on his arm, he sighed slightly. "And, like he said, I can build back up the respect my deck once had."

"You know," Seki started, rubbing her neck with the image Akiaki had presented to her, "I think I like my head were it is. I think that you may have a good point Katanao." Turning, she looked up at the gray clouds. "I think I will go home and forget any of this. I'm sure my parents miss me."

"And mine as well." Akiaki joined her in staring up at the sky. "Plus being in the hospital so long I'm sure has done nothing good for them either."

"Yeah, you are probably right again." Looking down, she turned her head to look at him out of the corner of her eye. "You know though, you can always come by my place. We could hang out or duel or something."

Looking down in shock of the strange invitation, he smiled at her after a few seconds of thought. "Sure Seki, I would love to hang out with you some time." Thinking about it for a second, he sweet dropped. "Though I don't live in a mansion like I'm sure you do, you are welcome at my house as well."

Smiling back, the girl nodded. "I might."

* * *

Poking his elongated head around the corner, Thoth growled at being met by the sweeping rain water splashing onto his face. Turning, he marched back down into the abandoned subway station where his other true partners were sitting.

"Damn those humans. Not a one of them has come back." He cursed, backing up against the wall next to the opening to the outside world.

"Darling, do you really want those pests here?" Dementia cocked an eyebrow at the tan demon. "You're the one complaining the most that they are around here. I think you'd be overjoyed that they have left for a couple of hours."

"Oh no, I am Dementia. I'm entrawled that they are out of my sight." Turning his head, he looked back up the stair ramp that lead to the outside world. "I just have never trusted them, and it bothers me I don't know what they are doing up there. For all I know, they could be planning to turn against us."

"Then it would be more fun for us. More victims to fall pray to our…mmm…delicious web." Dementia licked her pinkish-purple lips as she spoke.

"Or more work than is needed." Thoth responded in his cold, snarly way.

"Oh, you used to be so much fun. Now look at you, you are so boring." Dementia flicked her wrists at the Egyptian monster, teasing him slightly. "Now you make playtime seem like a boring choir that we must deal with."

"Shut up you two knot-heads." Freyr ordered, catching both Thoth and Dementia by surprise. Standing up straight, the two of them showed the utmost respect for their master's wishes. "You two bicker like a bunch of sniveling humans. And soon enough, we won't ever have to deal with them again." Lifting his massive red skinned hand, he looked at its palm. "I have a good three-fourths of the crystal. With all of it that was intact in the main body, I can finally save humanity from the horrors they fear so much. And no one will be capable of abusing the crystal again," clenching his claws into a massive fist as he spoke, he looked up and glared at his servants with his three, blood red eyes. "Ever again."

"Yes master, we will get the crystal from the humans so that its power can never be used against us." Thoth turned, trudging up the stairs to check to see if the humans were anywhere in sight.

Dementia cocked her head, looking at Freyr. "Master?" She asked, causing him to glare at her from her rude intrusion into his world that he was slipping back into.

"What is it Dementia?" He growled, making her back off slightly.

"I, um, will follow you no matter what master, I am your loyal servant. Always have been. But all I've really ever known is that we are seeking this crystal so that the humans don't have it. What is it that you actually plan to do with the crystal?" Bowing slightly, she continued to speak. "If you don't mind me asking, Lord Freyr."

"I do mind, and you would be wise to keep your pointed nose out of business that doesn't concern you." Freyr growled, closing all three of his eyes. "All you need to know is that our side needs it, and their side can't posses its incredible power."

"Yes master." Dementia bowed even deeper, physically apologizing for her rudeness.

Standing in the stair well, Thoth rolled his eyes at the scene taking place in the room below him. _"Dementia, didn't you realize that you weren't going to get an answer out of him? He hasn't even told me what his plans are. All I know is he wants this crystal, and who am I to judge?"_ Looking back up, he glared at the dark sky that was holding over the city. _"But it would be nice to know…" _

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Satellite Cannon  
**0/0/5/Light/Machine  
This card is not destroyed as a result of battle by Level 7 monsters or below. This card gains 1000 attack points during each of your end phases. This cards attack is reset to 0 after each attack.

Chao: "Yay! My very first card of the episode screen time. How pleasing to me in my opening duel chapter. Let see, this monster is the card I was up against, Satellite Cannon. While it takes a tactical mind and a good deck, this card can be quite fun to play with. Gaining 1000 attack points to start the opponents round off with could add up, especially if you are patient enough to build up this into a monstrous attack. Gotta watch out for its downfalls though."

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	26. The Iron Cage of Life

Episode 26: The Iron Cage of Life

Knocking softly on the large golden door, Order pushed it open slowly to see Kaira's large brown eyes looking at her form her place kneeling on the floor. Smiling, she nodded as Order walked in and quietly closed the door behind her.

"How are they doing?" Order asked, kneeling down next to Kaira who took her attention off of the red haired woman and looked out over the three sleeping bodies.

"I've cleaned and changed their bandages, and they are sleeping soundly now." Closing her eyes, she turned her head and looked at Order once again. "They will be fine. Good things demons heal a lot faster than regular humans. Actually, if they were human, they'd be dead by now."

"Yes, quite resilient creature's demon's can be." Order nodded, her eyes drifting aimlessly over the three bodies that lay sleeping before her. "Unfortunately we are dealing with a demon as well, so his wounds will be quick to heal as well."

"True." Kaira sighed as Order stated something she really didn't want to hear.

"But this isn't the only reason I came here." Order slid her hand onto Kaira's shoulder as the blond haired girl turned her head to look at her with a confused expression on her face. "A little while I felt a strange energy. I usually can't pick out energies unless they have an incredibly strong duelist soul. I felt Reku and Ronin dueling elsewhere, and that energy was incredibly strong for a long time, so I'm surprised I even noticed this still weak, but stronger than normal energy flux."

"So who was it?" Kaira asked, not totally following Order's explanation of feelings duelists' energies.

"That is what I don't know. This energy was completely new to me. I had never felt it before." Order stood up from her crouching spot, Kaira following suit behind the woman. "What bothers me is it was in the vicinity of Reku's and Akina's home. And you said Kiro lives near by. I'm unsure what his energy feels like, it could have been him."

"Kiro could have come back looking for us." Kaira's eyes widened as she realized. "Order, can you send me there? I need to find out!"

"Sure I can." Order smiled at the girl's silliness. "That is why I came to you. I figured you would want to be the first to know." Looking down, Order took Kaira's hand in her own and held it up. "But because you don't posses a fragment of the crystal, you won't have the power to contact me back. I'll give you a brief amount of time, but I'm going to have to contact you to bring you back."

"That is fine with me." Kaira nodded, smiling wide at the thought of Kiro finally returning. She had been worried sick about him ever since he disappeared

* * *

Chao stood with his arms crossed under his cloak. The rain was pounding on his silver mat of hair that rested on his head, but he refused to move until Tal and Masuyo had completely vanished from sight and he was sure they weren't going to double back the moment he turned his back. 

"I wonder what in the world that was all about." Chao spoke under his breath, turning finally and looking over at Kiro's house. "And I wonder where that numbskull wondered off to. Seems like he must be busy to not be home. Oh well, I guess I'd better just go…" Something dropped his sentence midway through, his eyes narrowing to see if he had really seen what he thought he had. Behind Kiro's front door, he could of swore just a second ago he had seen a huge flash of light.

Moving slowly, cautiously, he crossed the lawn diagonally heading straight for Kiro's front door. When he was just a little ways from it, he stopped dead still on the soaking grass. His eyes vigorously watched the door knob turn, and the door inching open. From inside, a blond haired girl stuck her head out, seeming to jerk it back in when the rain surprised her.

Opening the door fully, Kaira stood in the small entry way staring out at the raining sky. Turning her head slightly, she caught just a glimps of a silver and black blur that was racing towards her. The next thing she knew, she was in the embrace of a soaking wet blanket.

"Kaira! I was wondering if I'd ever see you again." The voice quickly registered with Kaira who jerked back from the man, smiling wide.

"Chao!" She cried out, happy to see the man who stood halfway in the door now. "What are you doing here?" She asked, before realizing the front of her clothing was now dripping wet. "And why are you wondering around in the rain, getting me all dirty like that? You jerk."

"Sorry, sorry." Chao rubbed the back of his head, smiling like an idiot. "I was just happy to see a friendly face. I came here to meet Kiro. He told me to come by and visit him. Do a few practice duels, things of that sort. What are you doing here?"

"I came to visit Kiro as well." Kaira admitted, stepping back and sweeping her arms so that Chao could enter the house. "I was kind of hoping you were him. But I guess you aren't." She turned a bit disappointed, but still happy to have met an old friend here.

"So Kiro isn't here." Chao turned, closing the door. "That kind figures, but, what are you doing alone in his house? And why didn't you answer the door when I knocked?"

"'cause I wasn't here." It was Kaira's turn to rub the back of her head with embarrassment. "I was…um…in a different dimension."

"Different dimension huh?" Chao shrugged, looking around the small living room. "I've heard stranger things I guess. And you can access this dimension through this living room?"

"No, no, I can't access it at all." Kaira waved her hands in front of her body in an attempt to disprove Chao's theory. "A new friend of mine has to contact me and bring me back to their dimension."

"Oh, of course." Chao nodded, in complete disbelief of Kaira's story. _"I'm friends with a demon, so I guess anything is possible."_

"So wait." Kaira interrupted Chao's thoughts as something dawned on her. "Why would Kiro ask you to come here and duel with him? Last time I check, Kiro could smoke you in a duel."

"The vote of confidence in my skills is lovely, thank you Kaira." Chao sweat dropped sarcasm blatantly obvious in his tone of voice. Perking up, he took a serious expression. "You don't know? Don't you read like, Duelist Weakly or anything?"

"No."

"Wow. Um…" Scratching his head, Chao looked off to the side. "Sorry that you didn't know then. About a year ago, a little longer than that maybe, I entered into the pro-league dueling circuit. My rank isn't extraordinarily high yet, even after a year, but it has definitely risen since I entered. There are a lot of tough competitors in the circuit." Looking back, Chao couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that Kaira literall had her mouth hanging wide open. "I think Kiro's actually been thinking about getting into the dueling circuit. Or that is what it sounded like on the phone, he wanted to see what a pro-league duelist dueled like."

"Why has…no one…bother to tell me about…any of this?" Kaira was bumbling her words around, completely thrown out of the loop.

"I figured you knew." Chao stupidly backed up incase the woman went into a raging swing fit.

* * *

A few moments earlier, after sending Kaira, Order paced back down the golden hallway to the main room where Deruku and Gurabe were still, talking away. She felt a strange twinge, knowing that someone was tapping into the power of their crystal to speak to her. 

"**_Order? Are you there Order?"_ **The voice belonged to Joe.

"I'm here Joe, what is it you need? Did you find Reku and Ronin yet?" She questioned, getting a wave of emotions through their connection.

"**_No, sadly, by the time we got to where they were supposed to be, they had already disappeared. We have no clue what happened to them. We're kinda at a loss here, would you mind transporting us to the castle?"_ **

"Of course. Hang on one moment." Order broke the connection, walking into the large chamber of the castle and focusing her energy. Gurabe and Deruku were surprised at first to see her walk in like that, but once they recognized what she was doing, they didn't dare say anything.

A huge sphere of light began to form, taking shape in the clearing in the middle of the room. Blasting out rays of light, the orb took shape before dispersing off into wisps of light leaving the large group of people standing there.

The first thing Order noticed was Akina who was crying on Sachiko's shoulder. Moving quickly she pushed through the group and stood next to the two of them.

"Akina, are you alright?" She asked, though looking at Sachiko. "It's because you don't know what happened to Reku, right?"

"Yup." She nodded, patting Akina on the back once again. "We are unsure if he won, or lost, or what happened to either of them."

"We were hoping you could track them down." Joe came in, causing Order to look back at him because he was standing behind her. "We figured that since you could feel powerful auras, you might be able to find them.

"Not unless they release a burst of their soul energy, which typically only happens in a duel." Order shook her head. "I can faintly feel people, but I can't feel either one of them right now. Sorry."

"Well, that's just great." Joe, filled with a mix of anger and disappointment, turned and scraped his foot over the ground as if to kick something, had there been anything there to kick. "What do we do now?"

"Wait I guess." Sachiko bowed her head, before looking back up. Waving dumbly she made Order cock her head at her. "Hey Order, it's been a while."

"Oh, Sachiko." Order placed her hand on her chest, a bit relieved there was nothing seriously wrong with the woman. "In all the panic I didn't even realize that I hadn't seen you in ages."

"So where is Kaira?" Kevin asked, changing the subject back to the matter at hand. "And how are Kooru, Heruru and Hebanu doing? Are they getting better? Are they awake?"

"Yes, the three demons are doing fine. They are recovering their health and are resting now. Their bodies regenerate at a rapid pace compared to humans, but Freyr's wounds are deep. It will take some time, though I would assume Freyr himself is out of combat as well.

"As for Kaira…" Order turned towards the golden ceiling that was high above her head. Concentrating, she spoke calmly into the air. "Kaira, can you hear me?"

"**_Yes Order, I can hear you."_ **Kaira's voice bellowed back, echoing off the walls of the golden chamber. The small group looked confused to find out that Kaira must be back on Earth, as Order can't contact any of them like that in the same realm as her. **_"It wasn't Kiro, but it's a friend. It is alright to bring us both there now."_**

"A friend?" Joe cocked his head. "Wait…I'm a bit lost. How many more friends are there?"

"You're lost?" Ryokurio hit Joe on the shoulder playfully, but forcefully enough to grab his attention. "Who the heck is this Kaira person. Who's Kiro? And did she say there were three demons resting here?"

"Woops, we've got some explaining to do." Kevin put his hand over his mouth playfully, but still showing he was serious.

Just as he said that, a large orb of light blasted into the room right next to the small group. Subsiding, the light produced two figures, one was the blond haired Kaira, the other was a stranger wrapped in a soaking wet, black and silver colored cloak. Smiling dumbly, he raised his right hand slowly and waved it back and forth as an awkward silent greeting to the rather large group. Not sure of what was going on or where he was, he just cocked his head and stared blankly at the new faces.

"Hello again everyone." Kaira stepped forward, turning and extending her arm towards the new man. "I'd like to introduce everyone to an old friend of mine and Kiro's, this is Chao Ryota.

* * *

Darkness had swallowed up the gray sky with the setting of the sphere of light called the sun. Though darkness had blanketed the city, the rain that had started its down pour hadn't cut any slack to its violent onslaught. Pounding the cold, steel buildings and rock hard cement with wave upon wave of soft, but frequent drops of icicle water. Splashing into the shallow lakes that had formed in uneven surfaces along roads and sidewalks as it did. 

The scene was shattered though as a large, black leather boot came crashing down into the puddle, sending water flying out in all directions as the boot lifted, causing its liquid foot print to fill in lightning fast with the rushing water.

Without slowing its stride, the owner of the boot rounded the stone corner of the building and trudged down the alley way to the large steel door at the end. Pounding on the door with a massive sized, hair covered hand on the tree trunk arm, the man waited for the door to swing open When it did, he greeted that large, bald black man who smiled to see him. Exchanging the cash needed, the large man walked into the hall as the door was closed behind him.

Fading into the sound of the area was loud roaring and cheering, as out in the main dome area of the room were cheering fans. Most of them looked to be gruff street punks and scandaly clad women who accompanied them, but all eyes were locked on the steel cage in the middle where two duelists were shocking the hell out of each other as they staggeredly took one another's life points.

Screams ripped through the air as one of the players inside the cage lost all his life points, the shock collars taking a huge voltage of electricity and surging it through the veins of the poor man.

Kiro frowned deeply, pushing up his sunglasses on his nose to hide his unhuman eyes from the world. He was leaning against the corner that lead off into the hallway with all the duelists chambers. Growling, he watched as the fans hooted and hollered as ring security dragged the unconscious man from the ring. He knew full well that in just a little while, he himself would be shoved in that cage.

Chime had wanted a few moments alone to prepare for the match that was coming up, as well as talk to her manager, so Kiro had trudged down to watch the duels. Though he wasn't really a fan of this kind of dueling, he still found it better than pacing the drab hallway.

Turning, he grunted as he began to walk back down the hallway. _"This is a waste of time. If this wasn't my sister…I probably would have said screw this by now."_ Turning his head back, he glared over his shoulder. _"Though this isn't exactly the pro-league…at least I won't be considered too much of a freak here. I'm no more messed up than any of those asses." _

The large wooden door opened, and forcibly shoved through it was the upright gentleman that was Chime's manager: Tatashi.

"I don't care, I will not trade out my brother as my partner, and that is final!" Chime yelled, walking out into the hallway and backing the man up against the far stone wall. He was holding up his hands to defend himself should Chime take to swinging at him. "If you want to keep me around, you need to put faith in me and let me handle this my way! We will win, and you will be sorry you doubted us."

"Oh my," A strange voice caught Chime's attention, dragging it away from the black suited man and to three men standing a few feet away down the hall. Her eyes widened when she saw them. "Five years later, and you still are a bitch."

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Chime asked, turning her full attention to the small, buff man that had spoken and the talk, slicked over hair man that stood next to him smirking darkly. "How did you two find me?"

"Dumb luck I guess." The short man, Hygin, shrugged. "We were schedualed to drop by here by our circuit to duel some losers at four times the pay. So we couldn't pass it up, right Archip." Hygin smirked, elbowing his partner in the ribs. Rubbing his side slightly, Archip nodded.

"Yup, never expected to find you here Chime." He spoke, causing the shock on her face to be flustered with a mix of anger.

"Losers?" Chime stomped forward to face the two men and Yukio who was trailing slightly behind them. "Those losers you are facing tonight are me and my brother, and you are the chumps that are going down."

"Chumps?" Hygin laughed, pushing Chime back so that she wasn't directly in their faces. "So you are the hopeless soul that we must massacre tonight. Good, it'll be the perfect revenge for abandoning us all those years ago. You left us for this," Hygin spread his arms out, motioning to the damp stone hallway they were standing in, "a trashy life and underground duels."

"Wait." Archip interrupted; looking down at the green haired woman he cocked his eyes. "Did you just say you had a brother?"

"What would that matter?" Hygin hit his partner again in the ribs to get him to shut up. "They are going down no matter what. You can't abandon the dreams you beat so frivolously into our skulls and leave us to rot in some hospital room."

"I left that hospital because of the defeat I was handed by Ronin!" Chime bellowed back, making Yukio widen his eyes at the name. "Him and his friends fought so hard to stop us, and guess what happened in the end? They won. They put everything they had on the line to save all those people. If we had such a fool-proof plan in place, how in the hell did three kids overcome all of them and beat us at our own game? I had all the odds stacked against that fool, and they won!

"So when I woke up in that hospital room I was confused as to why I had lost. Ronin had some powerful words and the backing behind it. I needed time to think it over before I ever saw your two ugly mugs again."

"_What the hell is going on here?"_ Yukio questioned, looking back and forth between the three people who were yelling at each other. _"I knew Hygin and Archip had run into Reku, Ronin and Akina before, but how is this woman involved with them. I never even bothered to find out how these three knew them…"_

"I don't care who had strong words." Hygin pushed passed the tall woman and kept walking. "I dislike backstabbers, and I will personally be the one to drop your life points to zero tonight, and shock the living shit out of you. Come on you two." He called back to the two other people following him. Quickly they jogged down the hallway until they caught up with him.

Chime watched their backs as they moved to one side, allowing a man in black hoodie to come past them. Kiro looked up and saw Chime with a beat red face, storming back into her chamber. Tatashi still up against the wall, just as lost as to what has just transpired before him.

Walking into the room, Kiro instantly grabbed his white duel disk that came flying through the air at him. Holding it down he saw his sister strapping on her own unique green duel disk. Glaring at him, she nodded with rage and passion burning in her eyes.

"Kiro, we have to win now."

"Why?" He asked, stepping into the chamber slightly. "What is going on?"

"Our opponents are old friends of mine. That's all. They both need to be brought to their knees." Chime watched as the latch on her duel disk tightly clamped onto her wrist. Turning it over, she looked down at the top of her duel disk. "Brought to their knees and whimper like the dirty mutts they have always been."

"So instead of just a regular; 'I am dueling in order to save my place down here and my life from the thugs that will kill me should I lose', this is turned into a…" Kiro swirled his arms through the air as he came up with the right term to use. "Personal vengeance match."

"Yeah, let's go with that." Chime picked up her deck off of the glass table and slid it into her duel disk.

* * *

Taking a seat in the very front of the room, Yukio ran his hand through his long and unkempt blue hair. He had no idea what he was doing here, but it seemed as though Hygin and Archip belonged to some kind of underground dueling circuit on the side of their work for Freyr. Looking up, he saw the two men he accompanied to the dueling ring inside strapping large black shackles around their arms and neck. Turning, they waved to the crowd which sent everyone into a frenzy of either cheers, or intense booing. 

Turning his gaze to the staircase that lead up to the hallway they had emerged from earlier in the night, Yukio watched as the green haired woman followed by some strange guy in sunglasses and wrapped tightly in a black jacket came down to the arena, walking into it without saying a word.

"_So this looks to be some kind of double duel."_ Yukio rested his head on his hands which were propped up by his knees. _"I wonder how this is going to go down in the end."_

As Chime and Kiro strapped themselves into their own shock shackles, a strange man in a pure white sure walked pasted them into the center of the ring. Holding a microphone up to his face, he began to bellow out to the hooligan crowd that surrounded him on all sides of the cage.

"**And now for tonight's main event!"** He called out, rotating around so that he could face the crowds on all sides of him. His words sent them into another uproar that he had to wait till it passed before he could continue to speak. **"Tonight, one of our very own is being challenged for her spot in this dueling circuit. If she should lose, she will suffer horrible consicenques that will defenently scar her dueling career for life. In this corner,"** the man thrust his arm out, pointing towards Chime and Kiro as he spoke. **"Our very own Chime Rinku! And her partner, a stranger to the dueling circuit, as well as her little brother I've been informed, Kiro Rinku!"**

The crowed, those who supported Chime anyways, began to cheer extremely loud. To this, Chime held up her left arm, her emerald green, circular duel disk humming as it began to activate. Sliding up, a hatch on the side of the device slid out into a long, pointed spine that was to act as her dueling field. Next to her, Kiro held up his duel disk, the field of light forming from a rainbow energy shooting out of the hologram projectors on the side of his wrist gadget.

After the cheering had quelled once again, the announcer whipped his arm out to his other side, motioning towards Hygin and Archip. **"And their challengers, brought here on special request from the western branch of our lovely dueling circuit!"**

Hygin and Archip, both mimicking their opponents, held up their hands, their white duel disk humming as they activated, snapping the duel plate together then loading it into the grove at the side of the duel disk.

The crowd's response to this was the same as it was for their opponents, roaring out that shook the steel cage around them.

"**And now for the rules of this match."** The announcer calmed down the crowed so that everyone knew what was going on. **"Our teams will share a jointed life point account, both being set for 8000. This means that once damage is taken to the life point pool, both players on that side will feel the incredible voltage as punishment to the team. **

"**Furthermore, no direct attacks will be allowed on the opponents life points until both players on the same team have their field completely wiped out."** Looking back and forth, he got a nod from all four contestants. **"Now for the order of how we will be conducting dueling tonight. First off, lets start with this man here,"** Pointing, the announcer held his index finger towards Kiro. Shifting his weight, the announcer than pointed across from him. **"After Kiro goes, Hygin will follow. Next Chime will move, with Archip bringing up the rear. No one is allowed to attack until everyone has drawn once. Are we clear?"** Again, a nod came from all four competitors. **"Good, now don't disappoint us with this duel, or the wrath of the fans will be worse than any shocks you might get. Let's duel!"**

"Duel!" All four of them cried out, the arena erupting in cheers.

Kiro/Chime-8000 LP   
Hygin/Archip-8000 LP

"Since it's my turn first, let me get the ball rolling." Kiro cried out to his opponents, fanning open his opening five cards. With his free right hand he yanked a sixth card from his deck and added it to his hand. "Rise up first; Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier (1500/1000)!" He cried out, slapping the piece of cardboard onto the clear light dueling field.

A hologram erupted before him, producing the dark skinned monster that was to serve him. Flying through the air, the man's black robes whipped back from the force. As he landed with a soft thud on the cement arena, he straightened himself up, bringing the large, metal pointed spear to his side.

"_Since I went first, I also get to attack first. No matter what they try, they can't get to me this turn, so my monster is safe…for now."_ Kiro thought and he waved his arm across his body. "Now take your turn. Lets get this game over with."

"Now come on." Hygin smirked as he placed his hand on the top card of his deck. "You heard the nice man; we are supposed to make this a good duel. Like hell were throwing it to a loser and a backstabber like you two." Drawing his card, Hygin flipped it over so he could look at it. _"Though we are supposed to be serving Freyr, right now he is out and we have an obligation to keep up our jobs. He'll just have to wait."_

"Backstabber?" Kiro turned his head to look at his partner, who just looked at him for a second before shifting her gaze back to her opponents. "Chime…what is…"

"Nothing." Chime waved off his question, pointing towards their opponent. "Pay attention. I'll explain everything later."

"You'll always explain everything later." Growling, Kiro turned his head back to his opponent who was slapping a card from his hand onto his duel disk. "Lucky you didn't live with me, you'd be as good as dead with that attitude."

"Element Soldier (1500/1200) in attack mode." Hygin announced as a large, tan armored warrior appeared before him in a rain of lights. "And I won't do anything else on my turn either. Your move, you traitor."

"You aren't going to drop that, are you?" Chime growled as she whipped one of the cards from her deck off and added it to her hand for her opening six cards. "Well, I'll shut you up, come out, Revival Slime (1500/500)." Chime cried, slapping the orange bordered card onto her duel disk. Appearing as a hologram before her, the image erupted into a large, shapeless blue blob with a hideously sinister face carved into its gel like surface. "I also end there."

"Which makes it my turn. Draw!" Archip announced as he pulled the top most card off his deck and gazed upon its face. Looking up, he smirked towards his opponents. "It would appear that we all start off even. I summon Mystic Clown (1500/1000), also in attack mode." With its name announced, the card appeared before the man with a rush of energy, producing a large purple suited monster. Eyeballs ran all down the monster's limbs and body, with one large green eye in the middle of its oval head. "This will end my turn."

"So this real duel can start!" Kiro cried out, sliding the top card from his deck. "Draw! And what a draw it is! I set this face-down on my field to start with." Kiro announced, sliding the card he drew into his duel disk of light. Snapping his arm up, he barked out his order. "Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier attack his Element Soldier now! Suicidal Spear Stab!"

Nodding, the tan Egyptian man charged across the field, a battle cry ripping from his lips. Thrusting his spear forward, he put it directly into the stomach of the monster he was targeting. His smile though soon turned into a frown as he felt a wave of pain surge through his own body, the spear of the enemy soldier ran through his own gut.

Both of them cried out before exploding into tiny data bits, causing Hygin and Kiro to shield themselves from the raining data.

Once the barrage stopped, Kiro held up another card from his hand, slapping it face-down onto his duel disk. "Next up, I'll just set this card and end my turn." The horizontal monster card appeared before him in a wave of light and a rush of sound.

"You best be careful, or she'll backstab you too." Hygin warned Kiro as he placed his hand on the top card of his deck. "You'd be best not to rely on her at all this game, only trust yourself, 'cause she'll backstab you to. Draw!"

"I will take my chances." Kiro growled, angered that his opponent was trying to break them apart so it would be easier for him to win. Though it wasn't to big of a deal, both his and his sisters deck could hold their own very well.

"Well, it's your loss then. My card will use her for all she is worth." Hygin smirked, sliding his card into his duel disk. "Go Spirit Scroll of Water!" The magic card materialized before him with a blast of light, from it a small orb of water appeared (?) (1000/1000). "This creates a Spirit Water Token, a object that will gain 500 attack and defense points for each and every water monster on the field. That includes itself, as well as your Revival Slime." Hygin announced, his monster glowing with a feint blue aura.

Next to his blob of water, a woman monster in a tight white suit popped up, spinning a sphere of magical ruins between its hands.

"Next I summon Element Magician (1500/1200) in attack mode, and due to her effect, while a creature of water is on the field; this monster can't leave my control. But here is the kicker." Hygin slid another card into his duel disk, watching as it materialized before him. "Scroll of Bewitchment allows me to change the type of my own Element Magician to water."

"What?!" Both Chime and Kiro watched in horror as a scroll began to spiral around the deep purple haired monster, changing into a stream of water as it span.

(Spirit Water Token 1500/1500)

"Now watch this!" Hygin snapped his arm out pointing towards Chime's monster. "Let's make that thing vanish. Spirit Water Token go! Wipe out Revival Slime with little to no resistance. "

True to its master's words, the ball of water raced across the field, crashing into the blue blob monster and enveloping it within seconds. A loud explosion shook the ring as the two monsters exploded, bringing back a massive roar from the crowed.

"Oh yeah!" Chime bellowed, snapping her arm forward. "I'll show you by paying 1000 life points so that I can revive my monster during my standby phase."

Kiro/Chime-7000 LP   
Hygin/Archip-8000 LP

"Wait…" Kiro's words weren't completed before the harsh voltage came racing from the black shackles, shocking the two siblings with 1000 life points worth of voltage. Black lightning bolts raced from the front red orbs, crashing along the dirty cement ring. When it subsided, Kiro growled deeply in his throat, glaring at his sister from behind the black glasses. "Don't get hasty like that, the duel just began. And don't forget, we are sharing life points. If you kill me with that kind of shit, I'll be sure to take you six feet under with me."

"Aww, are the poor little ones getting into a big fight?" Hygin mocked, snapping his arm forward to grab their attention. "Well, you'll be put in a time out after this one. Element Magician attack the remaining monster on the field."

Cupping its hands, the magician created a sphere of ruins that it instantly launched forwards. Racing across the field, the ball of energy crashed into the set card, but fizzled out as a monster hologram was revealed.

"You fool, you ran into my defense strategy, Gravekeeper's Spy (1200/2000)." Smirking, Kiro watched as black sparks began to surge from the clamps on his opponents bodies. The two men grunted as the voltage surged through their bodies.

Kiro/Chime-7000 LP  
Hygin/Archip-7500 LP

"Oh, but watch out." Kiro warned as he pulled his deck out of its slot. "My monster allows me to summon a Gravekeeper monster from my deck to the field. And for this, I will choose: Gravekeeper's Curse (800/800). Placing him in defense mode."

Next to the crouching black robed Egyptian monster, appeared a smaller one with a large curved staff in his hands. Twirling about before it crouched down onto his card, he smirked as a large, toxic green fog began to swarm around Hygin and Archip, causing the shock collars to go off again.

Kiro/Chime-7000 LP   
Hygin/Archip-7000 LP

"My Gravekeeper's Curse deals 500 points of damage to the opponent when it is summoned to the field." Kiro smirked, watching as the two opponents recovered from the sudden shock to their system.

"It won't matter." Hygin growled, pointing to Chime. "Alright, your move."

"Fine." Chime drew her top card, the blue blob monster pulling itself back together on the field before her. _"Kiro is right, I have to think about the two of us. Sadly, my deck works a bit on life point costs, so this could get bad. Luckily Gravekeeper's don't have life point costs as a major factor to them."_ Pulling a card from her hand, she slapped it down on her duel disk. "I sacrifice Revival Slime in order to call out White Blood Cell Warrior (2100/1000) in attack mode!"

A swirling blue light raced around the slime monster, vaporizing it clear off the field. In its place a dark skinned warrior monster with solid white armor that covered all of its body save its face and its arms. In its hands it held a sword hilt and a silver blade that looked like it was sawed vertically down. Smirking through its large bush of hair that made up its beard, the normal monster prepared to fight its opponents.

"Take this Hygin!" Chime bellowed, snapping her arm forward. Her monster began to charge across the field with its sword raised up by its side. "Strike down Element Magician with Viral Destruction Slash!"

From the side of the sword that appeared to be sawed away, a tail of white disks came racing out as the blade was swung through the air, slicing clean through the chest of the purple haired spell caster. Screaming out, the monster shattered into millions of little data bits.

Kiro/Chime-7000 LP   
Hygin/Archip-6400 LP

As their life points dropped by 600, the two men began to groan as the voltage began to rush through their bodies again. The scene of them suffering while black bolts of electrical energy jumping from the orbs on the shackles made Chime smirk darkly.

"_Soon I'll shut the two of you up permanently."_ Chime pondered, whipping her arm across her body. The large white knight landed on the field before her with a soft thud on the ground and a grunt from the impact. "I end my turn."

"It seems that no one even considers me a threat." Archip smirked as he drew his top card. Holding it up to his face, he glared past it at the two green haired siblings that he was facing. "I'll teach you to underestimate me and my deck. I'll sacrifice my Mystic Clown in order to call out: Summoned Skull (2500/1200)!"

As the clown vaporized instantly, a large, white boned skeleton monster rose up in its place. Large patches of deep purple muscle could be seen through the rib cage of the monster, and its face, with the dark eyeball sockets, sent out a ghastly chill of demonic dominance.

"Time to rock your world." Archip snapped his arm forward, pointing towards the white armored monster that Chime had. "Summoned Skull attack! Wipe out that monster with your Lightning Strike!"

Outstretching its large forearms, the monster sent a blast of electrical energy from the solid bones. Cruising across the small field, the blast collided with the armored warrior, causing it to explode in a fiery death. As it did, the shock collars on Kiro and Chime began to react, sending waves of electrical energy surging through their bodies.

Kiro/Chime-6600 LP  
Hygin/Archip-6400 LP

"Chime, do you remember the power of my deck?" Archip mocked, watching as the woman recovered from her punishment. "You took me on because I was incredibly powerful with my deck, and I am toying with you. Hygin has been pulling the fast moves, while I'm leisurely taking my time. You two don't appear to have decks that work together, nor does it look like you two have a dueling face and tempo that works together."

Hygin snapped up his arm, smirking darkly. "And without that, you two are bound do go down faster than a rock thrown into the lake."

"Dammit." Both Kiro and Chime cursed under their breaths, looking at each other for a second before their attention was brought back to the field before them.

"_They could be right."_ Chime glared at them. _"But we can still win…I hope…"_

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Gravekeeper's Spy**  
1200/2000/4/Dark/Spellcaster  
FLIP: Special Summon 1 Monster Card that includes "Gravekeeper's" in its card name with an ATK of 1500 or less from your Deck.

Kiro: "A card from my deck has made the Card of the Episodes this time; Gravekeeper's Spy. This card does a wonderful job at thinning my deck and quickly summoning a monster from it with 1500 attack points or less. There are some pretty killer monsters in my deck that this card has the power to target. Plus it has incredibly good stats to accompany itself. It's quite an amazing card."

A/N: Well, Happy New Years everyone. I'm back now for just a little bit. Be sure to cherish what I can get to ya in this time. Have a nice day!

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	27. Return the Memory of the Kekkai

Episode 27: Return the Memory of the Kekkai

Kiro took a moment to readjust the dark sunglasses covering his eyes. Scanning the field, the stage didn't look to be too out of their favor. In fact it looked pretty good. Between him and his sister on he had cards on the field; Gravekeeper's Spy (1200/2000) and Gravekeeper's Curse (800/800) both in defensive mode. And a set card behind them.

Of the opponents, only Archip had a card on the field, which was his powerful Summoned Skull (2500/1200). It would be tough to deal with Kiro thought, but he knew he had what it took. He had dealt with worse.

Chime thought wasn't so sure. Archip's words to her she had taken a bite into her skin. Her and Kiro did have different decks, and thought they lead 6600 to 6400 in life points, things weren't going to go smoothly if she and Kiro didn't cooperate.

"Alright, let's get back to this game now. Enough talk. It was my turn now, draw!" Kiro announced as he drew his card, flipping it around so that he could take a look at it. Hygin and Archip smirked, waiting to see what kind of move their opponent could possibly pull to help himself. "Magic card go! Terraforming! A magic card that will allow me to place one field magic card from my deck into my hand."

Kiro took a few moments to slid hid deck out of its slot, fanning it open and finding the card he desired. Smiling, he placed it with his other cards that he had in his hand before shuffling his deck a few times and sliding it back into his duel disk. From there, he took the card he grabbed and slid it right into the side of his light field duel disk.

"And here it goes. Field magic card; Necrovalley!"

"_Necrovalley!"_ Chime, Hygin and Archip all had the same thought at the same time, watching as from all around the iron case they found themselves in, large holographic rock walls began to rise up, engulfing the four of them.

"Necrovalley's first effect kicks in automatically." Kiro announced, holding up his gloved fist for emphasis. "Now our graveyard is off-limits. No card is allowed to affect cards that have already been buried. But now for the second part," Kiro snapped his left fist forward, holding the cards he held in his hand down and folded back into his palm, "all monsters that have Gravekeeper in their title gain 500 attack and defense points!"

(Gravekeeper's Spy 1700/2500)(Gravekeeper's Curse 1300/1300)

"And I will give my turn to you at this point." Kiro bowed his head to Hygin as he spoke, letting his opponent take his turn.

"Fool, your move accomplished nothing!" Hygin yelled, snapping the top card from his deck and holding it to his face. "So now I just have to help my partner get around that annoying stupid wall you put up. Easily done. Magic card go," Hygin snapped the card he drew forward, revealing another magic card with a scroll on it. This one had a red orb in the center with a wave of flames erupting from the dark burned paper behind it. "Spirit Scroll of Fire!"

"Another Spirit Scroll…" Chime growled, remembering Hygin's last one that he had played. That had been a water one, so she was assuming this one of fire would do the same thing. She was right.

"I special summon one Spirit Fire Token (500/500), defense mode!" The small red orb appeared in a blast of yellow sparks on Hygin's field.

Smiling at the card, he watched as a small flame aura began to form around it. Looking down at his hand, he grabbed the next card he planned to play and slapped it down onto his duel disk.

"Go Element Saurus (1500/1200)!" Yelling out his cards name as he slapped the card down, a large blast of energy erupted on his field, producing his reptilian like monster. It was a large, brown, and rather wide dino with a deep sapphire orb grasp tightly in its yellow clawed hand. The fierce monster roared out with its appearance, hunching over into a striking pose. "My monster gains 500 attack points if a creature of fire happens to be on the field, which one is thanks to my token." Hygin explained, his monster's attack power shooting upwards. (2000/1200)

Snapping his arm forward, Hygin pointed directly at the crouching tan man with the shepard's cane.

"Element Saurus attack! Jurassic Flame!"

With another massive roar, the titanic lizard sent a comet of flames bursting from its maw, incinerating the small man on contact. The fire lit up the walls of the valley the four of them were in, as well as the screams of Kiro's dying monster echoing down the corridor.

Two brown back cards appeared behind the now calm dinosaur. "I set these two cards on my field, ending my turn."

"_A monster of 2500 attack points, a monster of 2000 and a defender of 500."_ Chime pondered in her head, placing her delicate fingers on the top card of her deck. _"Seems we've been out gunned in attack points at this moment. But I will get it back."_ Narrowing her brow she snapped her arm out. "I draw!"

Holding the card up, Chime snapped her hand down and pointed towards one of Hygin's two set cards.

"Magic card go! Bait Doll. It forces the activation of your set card, and if you aren't allowed to activate that card yet, then it's destroyed." Chime explained, the set card she was pointing to flipped up to reveal a trap card. The image on the card was that of a purple, red and teal circle. "Negate Attack cannot be activated, so it's destroyed!" Smiling as she spoke, the said card shattered into tiny data bits the floated off of the field. Taking the card she just used, Chime held it up and continued to speak. "Bait Doll, when used, is placed back in my deck rather than put in the grave. This way I can continue to use it over and over again."

"That won't help you traitor." Hygin growled, sliding the Negate Attack into his graveyard slot.

"We'll see." She retorted, sliding her newly shuffled deck back into her duel disk. Holding up her hand so she could see the cards she held, she made her next move. "I normal summon my Red Blood Cell Warrior next, attack mode! (1600/0)"

The new monster that appeared was a buff, white skinned monster wielding a large, ridged sword with both of its hands. A blood red breast plate was worn for high protection as well as a full head helmet with only eyeholes cut into it. The top was waved back, being brought to a point.

"But I'm not done yet; Magic card: Slime Vase!" The card appeared before Chime with a flash of light, glowing brightly as it activated. "This allows me to special summon one slime monster from my hand to the field. I think I'll choose Acid Slime (800/1000), defense mode!"

Chime's newest monster appeared on the field hunched over an orange bordered card. This one seemed to be a four legged blob of aqua blue slime with a spiked center. Nothing really seemed to be special about the monster.

"I'm sure he'll be important later, but for now, Red Blood Cell Warrior attack the Spirit Fire Token." Chime bellowed, snapping her arm forward to point to her target. "Go with Pulsation Slash!"

Receiving its orders, the monster took off charging across the field, snapping its ridged sword around its body and slicing through the tiny orb, causing it to explode in a matter of seconds.

(Element Saurus 1500/1200)

"Now that that pest is out of my way, your dino buddy loses its power boost." Chime preached, taking one of her remaining cards and adding it to her duel disk. "I set this card face-down, ending my move."

"Fool." Archip smirked as he held up his hand of cards showing the backs of the five of them to Chime. "Summoning something so weak in the presence of my Summoned Skull with that half ass bluff. I will wipe you out for that move. Draw!" Snapping a new card from his deck, he instantly increased his hands size by one, but then took an older card and slid it into his duel disk behind his monster. "I set one card face-down, for later."

The rippling light produced a brown backed card hovering inches above the concrete floor of the arena.

Snapping his arm forward afterward, Archip pointed to Chime's normal warrior who just stood there with a rock hard determination. Hissing in a demonic tone, Summoned Skull extending its arms forward, aiming them directly at the monster it was about to fire on.

"Summoned Skull attack! Lightning Strike!" Pulling his arm back dramatically, he snapped it down to his side as he continued to speak. "Decimate her monster with your extraordinary power!"

Hissing again, the large skull demon produced a torrent of electrical energy flowing off its white and gray bone structure. Hurdling across the field at lightning speed, the attack threatened to really cremate Chime's monster.

"Nice try." Chime returned, swinging her arm down. "But my monster isn't going away alone."

Both Hygin and Archip gasped when the saw the attack actually hit Chime's monster, causing him to roar out with pain. His red metal sword went flying, crashing into the cement floor with a loud, metallic crash. Within moments, the monster itself exploded with a loud bang, sending heat, dirt, dust and data particles racing out through the rocked in corridor.

"Trap card open!" Chime yelled out through the barrier of smoke that now clouded the field. "Michizuri is a trap I'm sure you both remember. When a monster on my field is going to the graveyard, it takes with it one of your monsters. I'm calling out your Summoned Skull."

Just then though the life points on Kiro's and Chime's duel disk began to recalculate, causing the black shock collars around their body to go off, sending waves of electric energy and pain coursing through their limbs and break neck speed.

Kiro/Chime-5700 LP  
Hygin/Archip-6400 LP

Once the 900 points of voltaic power had subsided, Chime looked up with a triumphant smirk on her face, waiting for her monster's smoke to clear from the field so that she could see her victory over their dominating monster. Her smile quickly turned into a frown when she saw that the large skeleton creature was still standing on the field, growling like it typically did.

"What?!"

"I personally feel that we want to keep our Summoned Skull." Hygin spoke up, watching as the rolling smoke finally moved out of his way. When it did, it showed him picking in his ear with his pinky, as well as the activated trap card that he had on the field. "Seven Tools of the Bandit may cost us 1000 life points, but it will negate, and destroy that pathetic attempt at destroying our beast."

Kiro/Chime-5700 LP  
Hygin/Archip-5400 LP

Chime watched as Hygin and Archip suffered through their electrical shocks without even groaning in pain. Instead, Archip had a demented smile across his face as it seemed he was loving the pain, Hygin was glaring at Chime, a glare that would kill if it could.

"Thank you Hygin." Archip growled once the shocks were done. His body limped forward slightly, as a bit of smoke rolled off his clothing from the surge. Looking up, he continued to smile twisted at Chime and Kiro. "Alright, I am finished for this turn. You go ahead and try your turns. See if you can at least keep us entertained."

"You shut up." Kiro cried, sliding the top card off his deck and placing it into his hand. With a smile, he grabbed a card and snapped it forward so that the back of it was still to his opponents. "I draw, and set this card on my field face-down."

Another set magic or trap card appeared on Kiro's field with a splash of energy. Next to them, another Egyptian man appeared, this one toting a large, red wood cannon on its right shoulder.

"And I summon my Gravekeeper's Cannonholder (1400/1200) (1900/1700) in attack mode. With the power boost he gains from my Necrovalley field card, he is strong enough to wipe your Element Saurus right off the map!"

Propping up its cannon, the beast took aim to destroy Hygin's dino. With a pull of its trigger, the monster sent a blast of yellow and white energy racing from the cannon, across the field towards its target.

"It's my turn to save you Hygin." Archip cried out, his set card flipping open with incredible force. From it, a huge, dark tinted gale force wind came rushing out, swirling around the field. The power of the twister was ripping large chunks of stones off of the surrounding walls as well as picking up with ease Kiro's two set cards, ripping them to shreds in the outer layer of the cyclone. "I reveal my trap; Unholy Calamity. This card can only be triggered when the opponent attacks, destroying all magic and trap cards on the field."

"What?!" Kiro screamed out as the trap card continued to devastate his protective field, as well as his monster's home turf. Swirling up into the twister, the cards and valley's stones seemed to vanish as they collided with the top of the iron steeled cage. Settling, Kiro watched in horror as a few stones and a bit of sand raced back down and crashed on the cement field. _"My monster is too weak without Necrovalley to beat his monster…"_

(Gravekeeper's Cannonholder 1400/1200)

The blast of energy continued to race across the field, crashing harmlessly into the chest of the brown skinned dinosaur. Roaring as the attack hit him; the beast narrowed its gem like eyes, snapping its mouth open with incredible force as a blast of fire came rushing out of it. Backtracking the same path the cannon attack had come, the stream of fire collided into the chest of Kiro's monster, causing him to shatter into data bits instantly.

Kiro/Chime-5600 LP  
Hygin/Archip-5400 LP

As it was only 100 points of damage, the electrical shock Kiro and Chime received wasn't very intense. But it had hurt Kiro the worse, his strategy had just been ripped violently apart, plus now he could no longer defend them if need be from Archip's Summoned Skull.

"I have to end." Kiro sighed, looking down at his hand of cards. He had made a careless move, and it had cost him, as well as his partner. Though despite his disappointment, the crowed around the cage seemed to cheer wildly for the intense damage being dealt, as well as the grueling duel.

"Excelent." Hygin smirked, glaring down Chime as he spoke. "With that over with, it comes back to me, and I'm in a good position to do major damage to your wall. Draw!" Snapping his top card from his deck, he flipped it over to his left hand in a swift motion, freeing up his right hand to jerk upwards into the sky. "Element Saurus attack Chime's Acid Slime now! Jurassic Flame!"

Roaring, the monster dug its clawed feet into the stone floor beneath it, sending a massive ball of flames erupting from behind its row of gnarly, pointed teeth. Blasting across the field, the ball of fire engulfed the small blue monster whole, causing it to self destruct and send a wave of lime green slime all across Archip's and Hygin's fields.

"The effect of my Acid Slime activates now that it's been destroyed." Chime bellowed out, pointing towards Hygin as she tried to rub it in his face. "Destroying it inflicted 800 points of direct damage to your life points."

"Nice." Kiro threw in, looking at his sister before looking back at the field where the green slime began to bubble and smoke, causing the shock collars on his opponents to go off. _"The more life we can easily drain them of, the better chance we have of winning this. It won't be easy with that stupid Summoned Skull out, but at least we have a gap in life point totals now."_

Kiro/Chime-5600 LP  
Hygin/Archip-4600 LP

"Fine." Hygin cried out through the loud sizzling noise the electric belts were making. Within seconds, the shocking had ceased itself, leaving a very pissed Hygin and a bit of a worn looking Archip. "I have nothing else I can do this turn. Make your move backstabber."

"And you are a freaking fourth grader with this name calling." Chime retorted, looking over at her brother to see him nod at her. Placing her skinny, and a bit dirty and callused fingers on the top card of her deck, she proceeded to slid it off and flip it up to her face. "Draw." She smiled, looking at what she had drawn. Sliding it into her hand she pulled out her other card that she held and slapped it onto her duel disk horizontally. "I summon Clone Slime (0/0), defense mode."

Rippling light accompanied Chime's announcement as an orange bordered card appeared before her. From it popped out a small, green slime molded man, crouching down on its gel like legs. Its arms were held tightly across its chest, the pressure even making the outer layers of the being meld back together.

"This monster is all I will do for now. Your turn." Chime looked away from Hygin who was still glaring daggers at her. Moving to Archip with her eyes, she watched as he moved into position to draw a card. _"When my Clone Slime is attacked, I'll be able to switch it with one slime monster in my graveyard instead."_

"Draw." Archip called out, holding up the card he had drawn. Smirking, he looked over at his opponents. "I haven't done much this duel, so its time for me to do something good, hopefully. But first, I activate the magic card Reload!" Holding out the card, Archip showed a picture of an Egyptian style gun being reloaded. "This lets me move the five cards I am holding back into my deck, drawing out five new cards."

Slowly, Archip shuffled his deck of cards as he watched each card fall back together. Content that he would get fresh cards, he slid it back into his duel disk and pulled a huge group of cards off, fanning open five.

"Not bad." He smirked, holding up one of the cards he had pulled. "Magic card: Makiu the Magical Mist. With it, I can select one Thunder monster or Summoned Skull on my filed. When I do, it destroys all monsters on your field with a defense lower than the attack of my monster. In this case, all your monsters have defenses lower than 2500, so they go bye-bye."

"That's not good." Chime bit her lower lip, watching as a ghastly fog surrounded her green man and Kiro's crouching infiltrator. A slight electrical current could be seen jumping from cloud to cloud in the fog as it tightly wrapped around the monsters, causing them to melt away instantly into a puddle of data fragments.

"Lucky for you that this card forces me to not attack this turn." Archip began as he reached down to his duel disk. Picking up his Summoned Skull card, he held it up so that both Chime and Kiro could see it, then he moved it towards his graveyard slot. "I sacrifice my Summoned Skull."

"Dammit." Chime bit down harder on her lip, cursing through her teeth. She felt the wave of pain from the bite, but knew what was coming was far worse.

"What?" Kiro looked over at Chime, startled by her reaction, looking back, he watched as Archip placed a new card onto his duel disk.

"I summon Great Maju Garzett (0/0), attack mode." Archip's newest monster rose up in the exact spot his Summoned Skull used to stand before fading away as the card was picked up. The demonic, red armored creature hissed, dropping globs of saliva down onto the concrete below. Its blue muscle fabric was visible between its bone like armor, and massive tuffs of green, spike like hair. "This monster's special effect kicks in, doubling the attack of the monster tributed for it and adding it to this beast."

As Archip spoke, the massive monster, that towered much higher than his previous demon had, began to glow with a violet and navy colored aura, its attack points skyrocketing as its effect kicked in. (5000/0)

"Five Thousand…" Kiro watched as the monster hissed again, stamping its foot into the floor moving it closer to him. _"That is incredible. A move to bring out such a power house. But…"_ Kiro grinned, lowering his head so he was staring at the beast from out of the top of his eyes. _"I've faced monsters this strong before, and I've overcome stronger. I'll beat this."_

"My turn is done, but next time its back to me." Archip held up his arm so to emphasize his point. "My monster's 5000 attack points are being directed at your life points."

"_I have to overcome that monster."_ Kiro growled, holding up the three cards he held in his hand. _"But how am I supposed to do it with three useless cards? I have to find a way."_ Moving his left arm around, he held his duel disk so that his field of light was horizontal to him. Placing his hand on his top card he proceeded to slid it off and hold it up to his face. "Draw. And this is the hope I need…hopefully. Magic card; Card of Demise go! This will let me draw two cards to bring the total number of cards in my hand up to five. But in five turns, my entire hand is getting scrapped."

As Kiro explained his card that had been holographically rendered on the filed before him, he drew the top two cards off his deck and flicked them around to his face. It wasn't much, but it was diffidently better than what he had.

"I set one monster face-down on my field." He announced, slapping a card horizontally onto the tray of light. As the card appeared before him, he was sliding another card from his hand into his duel disk. "And cover one more card, this ends my turn."

Hygin patiently watched as the magic or trap card appeared behind the new defender monster. Smirking darkly he placed his hand on the top card of his deck. "Draw."

It didn't take him long to make up his mind, sliding the card into his duel disk he smirked as the card appeared before him.

"I set one card face down as well." He announced before narrowing his eyes and glaring at what he had to deal with. "And I won't let you stand in our way of paying back this traitor for abandoning us. Element Saurus attack his defender! Jurassic Flame!"

Letting the blast of fire sweep from its maw, the mega-lizard continued to disintegrate the defending card that was resting on Kiro's field. From it, a loud screech echoed across the field, as well as a pampered black cat in Egyptian jewelry appearing briefly before blasting to data bits.

"Cat of Ill Omen effect activates!" Kiro cried out, sliding the card into his graveyard slot on the white wrist band. Pulling out his deck he fanned it open and began to look. As he did, he explained what he was doing. "I get to search for one trap card, and place it on the top of my deck. If I had Necrovalley I would have placed it in my hand, but I didn't so well…you get the picture."

"Of course." Hygin nodded, rather impatient with Kiro. Waving his arm as he shrugged his shoulders he turned to face his female opponent. "Soon enough I'm coming after you, Chime. But for now, it's your turn."

"My turn huh?" Chime sighed, a bit annoyed with how long this duel was dragging out. Looking at her opponent's, she couldn't hide the boiling rage that was filling inside of her. She had hoped she would have never seen these two again. She still didn't have an answer to them, and Hygin was right. She had backstabbed them, leaving them to rot in a hospital bed. _"All because I don't know what to believe in anymore…"_

Looking from the angry face that was on Hygin, to the stern face that was on the usually more playful Archip, Chime felt a twinge of guilt.

"_I know I left…but I didn't know what was right."_ Looking over at her partner to distract her mind from her former partners, she saw him slide his deck back into his duel disk. Looking up, he stared at her from behind the black sunglasses. _"Kiro…I'm sorry. I wasn't there most of your life. You were stuck to bear the burden of the Rinku family alone just because you were the first born male. _

"_Even though so…your life was better than mine."_ Chime turned her head back, looking down at the green duel disk that she held up. Her eyes focused on the ring that was around the wrist gadget, the life point counter with the white numbers; 5600. Then, he eyes shifted to the deck she had in her duel disk. _"Our father threatened to take me out, his loyalist servant, just because he wouldn't make one exception to his stupid belief. All human minds and free thoughts, including his own flesh and blood, needed to be wiped clean. I'm lucky I got away when I did…or…_

"_Dartz found me, took me in, and showed me the truth. My dad had been abusive in a quest for his own personal power. Even doing a horrible thing to his own wife…"_ Chime felt a bit of a tear forming in the corner of her eye as she recalled it. She didn't wipe it away though, she let it build, sliding down her smooth cheek. _"Dartz had a greater plan, and shared it with me. That is where I met you Hygin…and you Archip. We became pals, we became a team."_

Takashi sat up straight, pushing the oval glasses on his nose up to his eyes once again. _"..the hell? Is she crying?"_

From behind him, the crowd was growing angry with the wait. Booing and hissing came from the rag-tag group of brutes. A bunch of excess materials, styrofoam glasses, food containers and other papers were thrown at the iron cage between the duelists and the audience.

"_Pigs…"_ Yukio growled inside his mind as he ducked down slightly in hopes nothing came flying by and hit him in the head.

Chime held up her hand, ignoring the crowd around the cage. Placing it onto the top card of her deck on her duel disk, she sighed deeply, closing her emerald green eyes. _"This isn't even about me being in this stupid dueling league anymore. No…its much more than that. I have to put an end to this. To these two. I think now the reason I've felt so empty these past five years is because I felt guilty. Guilty for what I did…and guilty for leaving what were my best friends behind. I think, to move on…"_ She began to slide the top card off her deck, flicking it up with her wrist. _"I have to put these two, my past, behind me!"_ Her eyes snapped open; a ray of green energy seemed to boil from within them. "And I will start it now…"

"Start what?" Kiro looked over after watching the eyes on both of the opponents grow wide with fear. "Chime, what are you doing? What is going on? I'm tired of waiting, what the hell is behind all of this? How do you know these two and why are you so hell bent on taking them out?" Snapping his arm across his body, he forced Chime to look at him in fear of him striking her. "You have it now, the will to explain."

"Yes I do, and I'm sorry." Chime bowed her head slightly, holding her duel disk at a stable level. "It is time you know, but the answers will come from this turn. Again Kiro, I am sorry. You are my brother and I love you. I always will…and I am sorry for your life." Looking back, she took the card she had drawn and slid it into the open field magic slot on her duel disk. "I am sorry for what this will do…but we must win this now, our very souls depend on it."

"Souls?!" Both Yukio and Takashi sat straight up, gasping the same word at the same time. Watching what was about to unfold was a sight for them to see. Neither of them, nor the entire arena was prepared for the blast of energy that erupted from Chime's duel disk.

"I activate the Seal of Orichalcos!" Chime screamed as the field magic slot on her spine like duel disk slammed shut. The ruins in the circle base of device began to glow with a luminous emerald green, sending a blast of energy skyward, and out in every direction known to human.

The force of the gale threw all of the crap that had been thrown at the duel ring right back towards the audience, causing most of them to flee their seats, running up the stairs in fear of what was going on. Some of the other ones who were to slow to react could only duck down, avoiding the massive blasts of energy that shot out from the duelist inside the cage.

Kiro ripped his nails through the bottoms of his shoes at lightning speed, digging them into the concrete ground below so that he wouldn't sent flying from the surprise eruption of power.

Hygin and Archip were already braced, knowing what was coming. They fought with all their energy to keep standing in the massive wave that continued to sweep across the field.

Chime's eyes were burning now, reflecting the outline of a large circle being traced high above them. As it spiraled down to the floor, it encased all four of the players, sending a sudden burst of energy inward as it crashed against the floor. Instantly green lines began to frantically race across the ground diagonally, bouncing off one another at the center and continuing their path towards the edge of the ring. Bouncing again, the lines continued to trace around until them came to complete stop again in the center of the now, six pointed green star.

"What in the hell is going…" Kiro's words were drowned out by a loud crashing noise, almost like an indication that the seal had locked down fully. Kiro also found his voice stuck in his throat, unable to bring up the words he was trying to say. Eyes wide, he felt a strange presence he had never felt before. A strange, incredibly strong power that was swallowing his entire being whole.

Screaming ripped through the thick air as Kiro grabbed at his head, the claws on his hands slicing through the fabric of his gloves. Squeezing down on the arms of his sunglasses involuntarily, Kiro managed to snap them, causing the glasses to fall off of his face and shatter when hitting the concrete floor. Looking up, his red iris eyes began to glow tinted with green. The streaks of red that ran off from them almost appeared to be rushing around his eyeball. Then, with a flash of light, the symbol of the Orichalcos appeared on Kiro's forehead.

Chime watched her brother's reaction to the seal from her spot on the field, the symbol also appearing on her head darkening her expression.

Flows of black and purple auras could be seen around Chime and Kiro, both of them calmed down from the initial shock of the seal's power on them. Hygin and Archip however were looking around desperate, knowing now that escape was futile.

"_She was planning to do this from the start…"_ Hygin realized, turning his head back to glare at the enraged woman. _"She plans on removing us. Well, that won't happen. Not as long as I have anything to say about it."_

Hygin's thoughts were soon interrupted as a wicked growling noise came bursting through the air. Turning his attention back to his other opponent, he saw Kiro's true form. Stepping backwards, a gasp escaped his lips as he looked at the young man who was developing an even thicker aura around his body, this time swirling with a jagged red color.

Archip and Chime also had noticed, but Kiro seemed to much so in a state of drunken power to care. He didn't even realize the small, but rapid changes that were suddenly being made to his body. His claws grew longer, more ridged, and a dirty metallic black color. The green lined cracks that ran through it began to glow in a toxic aura of their own.

The hoodie that he had been wearing was thrown off his body, revealing the long, pointed ears on the side of his head. The green mat of hair that he had also forming harder, growing into a spine-like Mohawk across the top of his head.

The skin on his face started to grow grey as well, green cracks starting to from across his cheeks. But he didn't seem to mind, his mouth was twisted into a dark, evil smirk that revealed razor sharp fangs on his top row of teeth.

Turning his head, Kiro looked at his partner, the same satanic gleam in his eye. Speaking, his voice had taken on a dark, gruff and evil sounding tone that echoed from his throat.

"Chime….What the hell did you do?"

* * *

Order sat up with a start, looking around the room in a panic, she saw that most everyone else had as well. Anyone who had a crystal card that is, as well as anyone with spiritual energy like Deruku, who was seated next to her. 

Sachiko, Ryokurio, Usami, Kaira, and Chao all looked at the rest of the group confused. Soon, their question was answer with a unanimous word uttered by them all.

"Orichalcos…"

Sachiko, Ryokurio and Usami instantly grew into a panic with the rest of them, their eyes growing wide and their mouths falling open.

"Wait, what's an Orichalcos?" Kaira asked, looking around confused. Chao didn't say anything, but he nodded in agreement, looking at everyone who slowly looked back at the two of them.

"It is big trouble." Joe spoke first, standing up from his spot on the golden floor where most everyone was sitting. Looking over at Order, he preceded to bombard her with his own questions. "But what is going on? Who activated it? Where? Why?"

"I don't know." Order shook her head, standing up from the golden table where she and Deruku were seated. "It is about that last thing we need right now."

"But Hygin and Archip said they no longer had the Seal of Orichalcos when we met them." Akina spoke up, her voice kind of raspy still from crying over Reku. Looking around, she continued to speak. "You don't think it's…"

"Chime…" Ryokurio growled, clenching his fist and standing up along with Joe.

"Dammit, if she's started working for Freyr too, our fight just quadrupled in difficulty." Joe cursed, smashing his fist through the air in rage. "Everything seems to be going to hell!"

"….Kiro is in danger…" A new voice caught all of them off guard. Looking over towards the door, they all realized that Kooru was leaning against the door frame. He looked very weak and fragile, but a determined look burned in his gray eyes.

"How do you know?" Kaira hopped up from her place on the floor, racing over to Kooru. "Do you know what is going on?"

"…no, not in the least…" He shook his head slowly, looking at the young woman. "But we are connected none-the-less. We shared a body for years. He's in terrible danger. Whatever he is doing, its accelerating the demonic aura inside of him. Since he's not a natural born demon, that kind of flow of demonic energy will consume his soul, killing him."

"Killing him…" Kaira's eyes widened this time, a panic rushing through her body. "…no…"

"Could…" Kevin stood up slowly, catching everyone's attention. "…this Kiro guy…be dueling Chime? He could be trapped in the Seal of Orichalcos…with the kind of power that thing has, it could be doing just about anything to him."

"This is bad…" Order shook her head, a dead weight frown creasing her soft lips. "This is worse than bad; this is a utter disaster…"

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Great Maju Garzett**  
0/0/6/Fiend/Dark  
The ATK of this card becomes twice the original ATK of 1 monster that you Tributed for the Tribute Summon of this card.

Archip: "Great Maju Garzett; A monster that requires good skill and tactical thought to use. It's a one tribute monster with absolutely no attack or defense power on its own. But, it doubles the attack of whatever monster was tributed for it. Give it something powerful, and this beast can turn into a brutish powerhouse!"

A/N: Alright, this is for anyone who really wanted to know. The title of this episode: "Return the Memory of the Kekkai" may seem confusing. Especially if you have no clue what I'm talking about. In Japanese, the way to say "the Seal of Orichalcos" is "Orichalcos no Kekkai" (The Boundary of the Orichalcos). It just seemed more poetic to me to use instead of "Return the Memory of the Seal". PLUS if you didn't know, that was great, and hopefully you were surprised by the Orichalcos popping up in this episode. Stay tuned folks! There is more excitement yet to come.

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	28. I Have to Ask What We Are

Episode 28: I Have to Ask What We Are

Yukio pulled his head up over the back of the chair that he found himself behind. Looking around, he saw that everyone else in the arena had fled with the sudden burst of energy that erupted through the dome.

Running his hand through his unkempt blue hair, he stood up and looked down at the iron cage below. He had never seen a card like that before.

A good distance away from him, Takashi also stood up from his awkward place sprawled across a series of chairs. Brushing himself off, he glared down at Chime. Though it didn't take him long to realize he wasn't alone in the dome, having spotted Yukio out of the corner of his eye. Walking slowly, he moved around the seats and massive amount of garbage that had been hurled about.

"Why didn't you run with the rest of them?" Tatashi asked, scaring Yukio slightly who didn't realize there was anyone there with him.

"I don't know." Yukio growled a bit, shrugging his shoulders. "I've seen some pretty crazy stuff, so despite the power of this, it's nothing that should surprise me. What about you?"

"Chime, the girl down there, is my top and favorite duelist that I manage." Tatashi looked once again at the green haired woman. "I would hate for her to lose, and I was to lose her."

"So then you know what she just did?" Yukio questioned, dragging Tatashi's eyes back towards him.

"Not a clue."

"Chime….What the hell did you do?" Kiro growled, his demonic eyes locked on his sister.

"Um…Kiro…" Chime spit out slowly, seeing the mere appearance of her brother. "You're exposed…"

"I know." Kiro growled, swiping his arm though the air at incredible speed and with intense force. "Answer my question, don't detour from it again. What the hell did you do?!"

Kiro's voice had grown even darker and raspier. The red iris eyes were flowing with a green aura that erupted outwards off of the eyeball. The normal streaks of red that seemed to accompany Kiro's eyes appeared to be moving, flowing around the entire sphere in Kiro's head. These eyes alone could freak anyone out, but when they were even crazier acting, no one stood a chance of staring him down.

"…Is he human?" Archip cried from across the field, causing both Chime and Kiro to glare at their opponent.

"Not now you. Just curl up in your corner and die." Kiro snarled, bearing his full set of fangs towards Archip and Hygin.

"Kiro," Chime called, her brother's attention being brought to her. "I used ancient magic. This card is known as the Seal of Orichalcos. We are trapped in here until the end of the duel. And the losers will forfeit their souls." Chime looked down at the ground, tracing along the green lines with here eyes. "But the power this thing should offer us is incredible, and hopefully is just the boost we need to win this. Our monsters will be 500 points stronger, as well as double in numbers. We are allowed to use our magic and trap card zones for monsters now."

"Really." Kiro's eyes joined his sisters, tracing along the edge of the star formation on the ground. "Well all right then. Finish your turn."

"Glad we are in agreement." Chime looked forward again, holding the card in her hand up before sliding it into her duel disk. "I activate the last card in my hand; Slime Multiplication Tables. This magic card will allow me to special summon from my deck up to two monsters with slime in their names from my deck. The only catch is they have to have 1000 or less defense points."

Ruffling through her deck with incredible speed, Chime whipped out two cards that she instantly slapped down horizontally on her green spine duel disk.

"I special summon another Acid Slime (800/1000) and another Clone Slime (0/0), both in defense mode!" Like clockwork, the blue skinned, four legged monster appeared over its horizontal card. Next to it, the human shaped green blob monster appeared. Both of them began to jiggled, the seal of the Orichalcos appearing on their bodies and increasing their overall power (Acid Slime 1300/1000) (Clone Slime 500/0). "And the power of the Orichalcos is infused with them. I shall end my turn on that note."

"Draw!" Archip cried out with the turn being passed to him. Grimacing at the card he drew, he slid it into his duel disk. "I set one card on my field first before launching my attack against your Clone Slime. Go Great Maju Garzett!"

"I don't think so." Chime smirked, picking up the card off her duel disk and holding it forward. "When Clone Slime is attacked, I may send it to the graveyard in order to summon a slime monster from my grave in its place. And of course, the battle will progress as normal." Pulling a card from her graveyard, Chime held it forward for Archip to see what she had. "And I choose to reuse my Revival Slime (1500/500)."

Chime's blue bodied monster appeared only on the field for a short amount of time before it was drowned away in a horrible green acid that came racing from the mouth of the hideous beast that was attacking. It didn't take long though for Chime to call out once again.

"The effect of my Revival Slime activates, so I'll pay 1000 of our life points to bring back my beast next turn."

Kiro/Chime-4600 LP  
Hygin/Archip-4600 LP

Neither Chime nor Kiro even seemed to notice the blast of electrical energy that came from the shock collars. In fact, they had forgotten about them all together. The intense power of the Orichalcos numbing their senses to it.

"I end my turn." Archip growled, looking down at the three cards he held. _"As long as my Garzett remains on our field, we stand a good chance still. Five thousand attack points is nothing to easily get around." _

"Draw!" Kiro yelled, sliding the top card off his deck and adding it to his hand. Smirking, he slid a card into his duel disk without a second though. "Magic card: Book of Moon activates! This card flips your Great Maju into face-down defense mode."

Archip watched as his monster soon turned into nothing more than a brown backed card resting on the field. Looking up, he grimaced at Kiro's set card that was flipping up.

"I also activate my set trap: Rite of Spirit. This revives one of my Gravekeeper monsters from my grave to my side of the field." Snapping his arm around his body, Kiro grabbed the card that was ejected by his duel disk, whipping it forward to show the opponents the monster card. Without a second of hesitation he had slapped the card down onto the dueling tray of light. "Come back out, Gravekeeper's Spear Solder! (1500/1000)"

Kiro's spear wielding monster appeared once again in a blast of sparks, snapping its silver tipped spear through the air. Landing safely on the ground with its felt like shoes, the monster began to roar, a black aura consuming his being. On the forehead of the monster, the symbol of the Orichalcos appeared, marking the beast. (2000/1000)

"Attack!" Kiro's mouth had contorted into a sickly evil smile. "Attack now…wipe out his beast!"

"I can prevent that." Archip growled, sliding one of the three cards he held in his hand into his graveyard slot. "I discard a card to activate my set card; Goblin Shock Barrier! This card negates all of your attacks for this battle phase." Pulling his deck out, Archip fanned it open and picked through it. "But that's not all, when it's activated; I may add another copy of Goblin Shock Barrier from my deck to my hand."

"Prevent it?" Kiro, still smirking, held up the cards he held in his hand. "I don't think so. I activate this magic card in my main phase; Surprise Attack from the Darkness!" His duel disk began to hum as the card was read by his scanners. Flipping up on his field, the magic card began to glow with a rainbow colored aura. "This card allows me to attack again, after my end phase. So it's time to blast you!" Kiro snapped his arm forward, his eyes widening with a sense of incredible power. "Attack now! Destroy his monster my grave solider!"

Nodding, the angered Gravekeeper launched himself across the field, snapping the spear in his hand forward. The metal tip easily pierced through the center of the brown backed card, causing the hideous monster to appear in its place for a split second before blasting into a million little data bits.

"And my Gravekeeper deals the difference between attack and defense to your life points."

Kiro/Chime-4600 LP  
Hygin/Archip-2600 LP

Hygin and Archip weren't as numb with power as their opponents, the loss of 2000 life points made their shock collars go off with an incredible amount of voltage, causing the two grown men to scream in immaculate pain. The current of electrical energy flowing through their bodies like rushing water down a mountain stream, causing both men to fall to their knees.

"Mortals." Kiro scoffed, rubbing his chin with the back of his black, metallic colored hand. "Weak humans."

"I…will show…you weak." Hygin growled, still kneeling on the concrete ground. Reaching up to his duel disk as he was, he snapped the top card down and off the deck, whipping it across the air before him. A massive grunt escaped his lips as he pushed himself up to a standing position. Then the card was moved back into his line of sight.

The card he had drawn was slid into his duel disk within a few seconds, causing the card to materialize before his feet, next to his other set card.

"I set one card face down first." Reaching down to his duel disk has he spoke, Hygin moved the card on his duel disk as well. "I also shift Element Saurus to defense mode (1500/1200), ending my move instantly afterwards."

Growling, Hygin looked over to see how his partner was. Archip was still struggling to his feet. Making it finally, the man looked a bit dizzy, but appeared to be going to be fine. Hygin could only hope though, right now they were behind, and their opponent's had a clear advantage. This wasn't a good spot for them to be in, especially with the Seal of Orichalcos on the field. The punishment of the duel riding heavily on their shoulders made Hygin sigh.

"_I refuse to give in to a traitor like you Chime."_ Clenching his hand into a fist, he looked back at the opponent's he was facing. _"I had no clue I'd ever meet you again, nor did I think that you'd have a devil brother. Fits you though, doesn't it you cold hearted bitch."_

Placing her fingers on the top card of her deck, Chime breathed a sigh of relief compared to Hygin's sigh of despair. _"It looks like even though Kiro is out in the open, he's taking the stakes of the duel pretty well. Though…what happened to him I wonder. Did the seal really elicit such a change in his body?"_ Looking over at him for a split second, something caught her eye, mainly the fact that another point was growing slowly out of the bottom side of Kiro's ear. _"Is he still changing?!"_

"Today…" Hygin growled, tapping his boot on the concrete ground.

"Shut up you." Chime yelled back, sliding the top card off her deck. "I realize you're in a rush to lose, but I am oh so savoring this. So much so, that I think I'll invite an old friend back to watch. Return to me now, Revival Slime!"

The graveyard slot on her green circular duel disk began to glow, and a holographic rendering of the sticky monster came racing out of the small rectangular hole. Grouping together on the field before Chime, the monster took on its standard, shapeless form. Its black, carved in eyes, it's barred off like mouth. Hovering down, it landed on its horizontally turned card. Between its eyes, the green mark appeared, causing a black aura to race up its body. (2000/500)

"And I have no problem activating this card; Heavy Storm." Chime called out; sliding the card she had drawn into her duel disk. From the holographic image, a mighty gale burst out across the field, causing Hygin's two set cards to be shredded instantly by the intense wind. "My card destroys all magic and trap cards on the field. This of course, leaves you completely defenseless sans that reptile you have there." Explaining her card as it vanished from the field, Chime pointed downwards to the green mark that still was glowing brightly beneath the four of them. "And I'm sure you remember that the power of the Orichalcos is so great, no mere magic card could destroy it."

"Oh I remember alright…" Hygin growled, annoyed by Chime's ego.

"Good, then I'll just end it here." Pointing to Archip, who had finally regained his balance, she smirked darkly. "Take your turn."

"Very well." Archip nodded, sliding the top card off his deck with vigor. _"I have to keep fighting; I have to take down their monsters."_ Holding up one of the four cards he had, Archip slid it into the end slot on his duel disk. "I set this card face-down first."

"_Goblin Shock Barrier."_ Kiro and Chime both stated in their heads, knowing was Archip's set card was going to be.

"Next I set one monster face-down defense mode." Archip called out, placing a card onto his duel disk so that the opponent's couldn't see its face. "I end my turn with this move."

"Quite trying to escape your fate!" Kiro called out, more insulting than demanding. "It's my turn to take you down. Draw!"

A large smile crept across Kiro's face as he realized what he had in his hand. The spear toting monster on his field becoming engulfed in a red circular pillar of light.

"I sacrifice my Spear Soldier in order to call forth; Gravekeeper's Chief! (1900/1200)"

Kiro's newest monster, the leader of his Gravekeeper army, appeared from the pillar of light. Swinging his golden snake staff around, the monster displayed some aerial acrobatics before landing safely on the concrete stage. The white and black stripped robes, laced with gold, fell slowly down to earth in the moments following his safe landing.

Next to him, a small purple aura appeared, forming into the shape of another man, before filling out to reveal the monster that had be sacrificed to summon him; Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier (1500/1000).

"When I summon my Chief, I can special summon one Gravekeeper from my grave." Kiro explained, snapping his arm forward to the monster he had. "And of course, the Orichalcos flows in them!"

As Kiro has spoke, the symbols appeared upon the foreheads of the two tan skinned men. (Gravekeeper's Chief 2400/1200)(Gravekeeper's Spear Solder 2000/1000)

"Spear Solder go!" Kiro cried out suddenly, snapping his already extended hand downwards to his side. "Attack his Elemental Saurus now! Spear Stab!"

"You should know that I'm blocking that." Archip yelled, his set card flipping up. "I discard another card to activate my Goblin Shock Shield!" Pulling out his deck, he fanned it open and popped out another card. "I also add the third copy of it from my deck to my hand now."

"Figured as much." Kiro yelled out, his Spear Soldier lowering its weapon as the Chief went flying by it. "I send my Chief into battle then, destroy Archip's hidden monster now!" Wielding back its staff, the monster smashed the head of it down into the spine of the monster card, causing it to shatter instantly.

"Big mistake!" Archip cried out, snapping up his duel disk. Picking up the card he had on it, he flipped it over and instantly stuck it into one of his magic and trap card zones. "You've hit the monster known only as Brain Jacker (200/900)! When he's flipped, I get to grab onto one of your monsters and control its mind!" Holding up his arm, he pointed towards Kiro's monster that was still on Archip's side of the field. From the card that he had placed into his magic/trap zone, a hideous gray blob monster shot out, grabbing onto the back of the man's skull.

The monster had a brain shaped body, with four long brown claws sticking out of the sides that it drilled into the side of the Chief's head. Flapping out its brown wings, the monster sent an aura off of them that raced through the body of the monster it had a hold of.

Over the top of his head, a single, long tentacle popped into view. On it; a blood shot eye gazed over at the field it saw before it.

"Of course, since your monster is no longer yours, it will lose its power bonus (1900/1200), but, it is still one less thing you have over us!"

"I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you." Kiro smirked, causing Hygin and Archip to shrink back at the sight of Kiro's pearly white fangs. They could both feel the killer instinct within them, clawing at a wall between them and blood.

In front of him, a brown backed card appeared with a ripple of energy.

"I set one card, ending my turn."

"Draw!" Hygin yelled, trying to forget about Kiro. Though it was easier said than done, the beast before him had him totally petrified. Yanking his eyes away from the demon, he gazed at what he had. _"Dammit…nothing I can use."_ Looking up, his eyes were instantly drawn back to Kiro, like metal to a magnet. "I end my turn."

"Then I will draw." Chime smirked, holding up he newest card. She instantly moved to her duel disk, shifting one of her monster's modes. "I move Revival Slime into attack mode, and send him after the Gravekeeper's…"

"NO." Kiro cried out, causing his sister to stop mid sentence. She looked over at him, dumbfounded by the sudden interruption. "Let me deal with my own monster. You take care of this scum before me." Kiro ordered, motioning with his head to the man who stood directly across from him.

"Very well." Chime nodded, pointing toward the brown lizard that stood between her and Hygin. "Revival Slime destroy!"

Without hesitation, the slime monster raced across the field, wrapping itself around the body of the brown scaled lizard. The suffocating super-creature roared out before exploding inside its gel like prison.

Smirking, Chime waited until her monster slithered back to her field, regaining its full form as it completed its journey. "I end my turn with that done."

"Draw!" Archip yelled out, pulling the top card off of his deck. Grimacing, he slid one of the cards he held into his duel disk. "I set this card face-down before sending the Gravekeeper's Chief into battle with your Acid Slime!"

Nodding mindlessly, the Egyptian monster raised its staff high into the air, a golden beam of light racing off of it and piercing through the awaiting four legged gel monster, causing it to instantly explode.

Kiro/Chime-4600 LP  
Hygin/Archip-1800 LP

"Of course you remembered that my Acid Slime would deal you 800 points of damage when it was destroyed." Chime smirked, sliding the card into her graveyard. The next sound that caught her ears was that of the screaming men as the damage was transferred throughout their bodies via the shock collars.

Smoke plumbing off their cloths, their skin dry and cracking, the men glared daggers at their opponent's, pure anger boiling within their weakening bodies.

"It's such a shame that you won't just bow down to us." Kiro announced as he slid the top card off of his deck, beginning his turn rather rudely. "Brain Jacker will kick in, giving 500 extra life points to us now."

Kiro/Chime-5100 LP  
Hygin/Archip-1800 LP

Looking at the card he drew, he smirked darkly, a glimmer of lust rising in his spinning eyes. The cards name read; Pot of Greed, in big letters. "I activate the magic ca…r…"

Kiro's voice seemed trapped; his body went completely numb, as a tingling sensation came racing up his legs. His vision suddenly doubled, but the images were fading off into a pure light background, creating nothing but a white scope before him.

* * *

"I think I've got his mind!" Order yelled happily, her index and middle fingers pressed tightly against her skull as a ball of light hovered in the golden room around them. The group of people stood behind her, watching as inside the glowing orb, a transparent image of a horribly deformed man appeared, glaring at them from almost solid, glassed over red eyes. 

"Oh my god! Kiro!" Kaira screamed, causing the creature to look over at her. The strands of green hair that wasn't plastered up into his spine like Mohawk shifting across his forehead. The green circular mark that they all feared appeared within view, causing those that knew what it was to shrink back.

"So he did use it." Joe growled, already forming a negative opinion about this guy. _"And what the hell is he?"_

"Kaira, what's going on?" The ghost like image of Kiro glared around the small group. His eyes locking on a silver haired man that stood next to Kaira. Smirking darkly, he waved his right hand which still held his magic card. "Chao, it's been a while."

"Likewise." Chao waved back, instantly taking his hand and running it through his hair. His eyes darted away from the man, looking down at the golden tiled floor. "You've…change a lot."

"No, this is just a recent change." Kiro announced, looking down at his body as he was hovering in the sphere. "This happened not to long ago, when I woke up this morning I was how I was five years ago."

"And do you know why?" A gruff voice caused Kiro to look past the group to see Kooru stumbling into the room. He had many bandages across is body, both visible and some being hidden by the tattered gray robe he wore. "Whatever you are playing with there, that ancient evil magic, has accelerated your already unstable amount of demonic energy. Kiro, your killing yourself from the inside or you demonic nature is anyways.

"Soon, the demon aura that you have will completely engulf your soul. This is only a problem for you, because you have a human soul still, even if you are a demon now. You can't stand that kind of take over." Kooru held out his hand, offering a strange chunk of rock to the ghost like image. "This is the only thing that can save you, that can ward off the power of this magic that is causing you to go crazy."

"I…see." Kiro looked at the duel disk on his left arm, seeing the reflection of his face in the small life point orb at the top. The glowing green mark on his forehead was visible, as well as the solid, slanted red eyes that he now had. Looking up, he stared at the demon before him. "What are you doing here anyways? And what really is this Seal of Orichalcos?"

"There…is…no time." Order groaned out, falling to her knees.

"She's right; she can't keep your mental state like this for too long. The drag of the Seal is killing her. All will be explained soon." Kooru wound his hand back, chucking the clear crystal at the transparent image, causing the rock to transform into a beam of golden light that crashed into his deck. "Use that, or die."

And with that, the orb of light burst into tiny little sphere that floated all around the room. Akina and Sachiko instantly dropped to their knees to help the panting Order up. The rest of the group just looked at each other quizzically, all wanting a full explanation of what was going on.

* * *

Yukio and Tatashi both watched dumbfounded with the other three duelists as the creature, Kiro, stood there motionless with a blank look plastered on his dark gray skinned face. 

Suddenly he blinked, shaking his head from side to side. Scratching the back of his head, he looked at the other duelists in the ring.

"What happened?" Chime questioned, getting a strange and confused look in return.

"I have no clue, but I have no time to think about it." He shrugged, looking at the card in his hand. "Alright, magic card go; Pot of Greed!"

With an inhuman speed, Kiro was holding the next two cards of his deck up, looking at their faces. His eyes grew wide at the sight of the first one he held.

"_It really did happen. This thing…is to save me."_ Taking the other card he had drawn he slid it into his duel disk, causing a strange wind to shoot out from behind him. "I activate the magic card Mystical Space Typhoon. I use this to destroy your Brain Jacker!"

As Kiro spoke, the incredible wind focused on the odd parasite that had attached to the back of the head of Kiro's former monster. Spiraling into a mini tornado, the wind pierced through the spine of the monster, causing it to shriek in pain before exploding into tiny data bits.

Shaking his head, Kiro's monster regained control of his mind, jumping back to his side of the field, the power of the Orichalcos once again rushing through his body (2400/1200).

"I reveal my trap card; Dead Spirit Zoma!" Kiro cried out, his set card flipping up to reveal the undead dragon monster. Shooting out, the purple and black skinned monster hissed as it landed on the field, curling up into defense mode. (1800/500) "Then I make the triple sacrifice needed." Kiro swiped his claws across the top of his duel disk, collecting all the cards on it.

Slapping one of his last two cards onto his duel disk, Kiro's largest beast began to appear in a rain of sparks. The black scaled serpent slithered across the cage, finding a resting place behind its master, curling up the ghastly white wings that held it afloat as it gently touched the ground. The pointed noise ripped back, bearing all of the razor sharp teeth within the monster's mouth as a roar blasted forth. The pitch forked tongue whipped back and forth as it did. Closing its mouth, the slotted eyes of the beast focused on the opponents for a split second before they began engulfed in a red aura by the Orichalcos. (3500/3500)(4000/3500)

"I summon, Abysmal Catacomb Dragon!" Kiro cried out, his massive beast sitting on the ground just behind him. Snapping his arm up, the monster roared once again, puffs of black fire came racing from inside the beast's throat. "His effect kicks in; causing all monsters who have lower defense than attack points on the field to be instantly destroyed." Kiro explained, pointing to the only other monster on the field. "So Chime, your Revival Slime is gone."

"That is fine with me." Chime nodded, her blob monster shattering like frail glass. _"With something like that on the field, it really doesn't matter. This game is in the bag!"_ Scanning the opponent's field, she noticed that the only card the duo had was Archip's set card. _"His Goblin Shock Barrier, he'll be able to block this attack. But still, there isn't anything those two can do against our monster."_

"It is my turn to play ancient magic now!" Kiro cried, taking the card he held in his hand and sliding it into his duel disk right behind his dragon card. "I activate the Oracles Rage Incarnate Seal of Power-Gold Crystal!"

"The what?!" Chime, Hygin and Archip screamed, all three of them having their jaws hit the floor in complete shock of what they were hearing.

Around Kiro's body burst up a large golden mast of energy, causing the green seal below his feet to shake angrily and become distorted. Whipping wildly around, the green lines of the seal could no longer keep their form, destroying the six pointed star formation that they shared.

The aura pushed out, creating a circle of its own around Kiro as well as his large dragon monster, dissipating the seals power upon their bodies and replacing the green marking on their foreheads with a golden colored one. The lines upon them all began to move, shifting to one side without losing their grips on the edge of the ring, creating a crescent shaped mark. (3500/3500)

Abysmal Catacomb Dragon than began to change, its solid black scales drifting into a golden tint moments before large spike like pillars of golden crystals came erupting from deep beneath them. Shooting outwards, the crystals sent a yellow lightning down into the monster, causing him to roar with an unexplained might, its forked tongue whipping wildly as it, too, took upon a golden color, followed closely by its full set of pearly white teeth turning yellow. (7000/7000)

"Abysmal Catacomb Dragon Gold Mode!" Kiro cried out, his monster slithering up behind him. "The power of the Gold Crystal doubles its offensive and defensive points." Kiro explained, letting his limbs drop to his side. _"How did I know that?..."_

Chime on the other hand was staring with fear at her brother. _"Where…when did he…get that…card…? He's used it to ward off the power of the Orichalcos, a feet that can only be accomplished through use of incredible magicical powers that rival or surpass it."_

Her brother indeed had fought off the Orichalcos, now being surrounded in a heavenly light, he lifted his arm to point towards their enemies.

"Abysmal Catacomb Dragon Gold Mode attack directly. End this game!" He cried out, his monster blasting golden flames from its maw.

"I stop your attack!" Archip whipped his arm through the air, still terrified but knowing he had to stop his attack. "I reveal my last Goblin Shock Shield."

"No you don't." Kiro stated, rather calmly. His eyes closing, he could just feel the energy of his monster's fire crashing into their helpless bodies. His sensitive ears could hear their screams racing up through their lungs long before they ever escaped their lips. The shocking of their bodies from the collars, the searing of their flesh; all reached Kiro before they were audible

Kiro/Chime-5100 LP  
Hygin/Archip-0 LP

"The Gold Crystal prevents you from activating cards during my turn." Kiro slowly, by human standards, opened his eyes. "There was nothing you could do to get away from my attack."

"He really is incredible." Tatashi had to push his hanging jaw up. "I mean, I saw his talent before, but I didn't believe that the two of them could really pull it off like that. Where in the seven worlds did he find a card like _that_?" He then noticed that the green circling the bound the four of them in had began to move on its on accord, rather than vanishing like most holograms. Spinning inwards, it appeared to be closing in on the two opponents. _"And where did that card come from for that matter…?"_

The Seal indeed closed around them, crashing with a loud lock as it bound into place, shooting a spectacular light show up into the air. The numb, electrified bodies of Archip and Hygin gave what was left of their souls to the Orichalcos.

Fading from around his new body, the golden aura as well as his dragon vanished into thin air. Turning, he glared at his sister who was still lost, staring blankly at him. "Alright, its time you told me the truth." He growled, walking with a slow, steady stride towards her.

She was frozen, her in duel disk hanging at her side still in the 'on' position as he made his way towards her. Stopping before her, he twisted the front of her shirt and lifted her off the ground with no effort at all. Breaking her trance, she stared down at the glassed over red eyes. She could feel a killer intent from them. They were nothing like she had ever seen before. The Orichalcos changed him, made him more hideous, more demon than he was when they had begun the duel.

"Kiro…" She began, looking her brother directly in his eyes. "I think I've made a mistake using this card again. I have ruined your life even worse, haven't I?"

"I don't care." Kiro growled, not even turning to look at Tatashi and Yukio as they slowly entered the cage. "I want answers. There are too many questions here that have been going unexplained. So I have waited until the time when you would tell me everything that I needed to know, and the time is now. Cough it up."

"…and." Yukio's voice rang into the world of the two siblings, causing the green haired monster to shift his gaze at the blue haired man with such incredible force that the naked eye could not see the move.

"What?" Kiro growled, causing Tatashi to fall backwards off the stairs with fear.

"…are you a demon as well. Like Freyr?" Yukio continued, scared, but holding his ground.

"Freyr?!" Kiro dropped his sister, who fell roughly to the cement stage below. "How the hell do you know Freyr?"

"The three of us," Yukio pointed to the lifeless bodies of his ex-comrades as he spoke, "worked for Freyr. For the reason that we had faced Reku and his friends before. So we had the best chance of finding a way to undermined them and take them out while he worked at taking some crystal."

"Crystal huh?" Kiro held up his right hand, which held the new crystal card he had just used in the duel. _"This thing?" _

"So those two were…" Chime looked over at Hygin and Archip. "Working for a demon to try and take out Reku and his friends?"

"In a nutshell, we all were." Yukio slid his hand through his long blue hair. "But it seems you knew them prior to their current,…ex-current, employer."

"There is more here than we are aware of." Kiro held up his duel disk, which was just the white wrist gadget at the moment, and slid the crystal card onto the stack of cards that he held there. "There seems to be this underlying connection between everyone I've met recently. Something bigger is going down."

"Odd as it sounds." Yukio looked at Chime, pointing towards Kiro with his thumb. "I agree with the demon."

Chime nodded in agreement.

* * *

Freyr stood up, the pain from his wounds blasting down his spinal cord. His three eyes narrowed, watching as a disgruntled Tal walked into view. The man though didn't seem to care, walking up; he bowed down onto one knee, not daring to look up at the red skinned demon that towered above him. 

"Lord Freyr, I have not seen or done anything to the group of humans that seem to plague you."

"All that time you were out!" Freyr bellowed, his voice echoing off of the walls of the chamber, making the three other beings in there shutter with terror. "What were you really doing out there? I can no longer believe it was merely trying to take out that group. It was far to much time for such a simple task."

"Simple task?" Tal looked up, instantly dropping his eyes again. "With all due respect, your lackeys couldn't take out those pipsqueaks either."

"On the contrary human." Thoth growled, stepping forward. "Neither me nor Dementia has lost a duel against one of those punks. I do believe that we are doing a better job than you." Looking over at Freyr, he continued to speak. "Lord Freyr, I believe now more than ever that me and Dementia should have handled it from the start."

"But." Tal stood up, glaring at the tan skinned demon. "The deep wound that Mistress Dementia inflicted upon Ronin, I was the one that made that fissure bigger. A huge rift has been caused in their group. I believe that the reason that I couldn't find them was because in this down time from us, that Ronin made his move to attack the group."

Freyr moved, slowly, to rub his chin with his thick fingers. Looking down at Tal, he nodded. "That was a good ploy indeed. If we are lucky, that riff was enough to completely divide their team effort." Sighing, he let his arm fall to his side once again. "Dementia, why didn't you think of that?"

"Umm…" Dementia was dumbfounded, lost as to how this subject was suddenly turned on her. "I am sorry, Lord Freyr."

Tal, looking around the damp, abandoned station, noticed just how empty it was. "Where are the rest of your servants, Lord Freyr?"

"The rest of the human scum up and walked out of here, like you did." Thoth scoffed, reminding himself just how annoyed he was with the rebellious little 'rats'.

Turning, Freyr faced his demonic minions, causing the two of them to instantly bow their heads in respect of their master.

"If this is true, that the pests are simply too busy to care about us, then the battle ground is about to shift." Turning towards Tal, he narrowed his eyes as if to show his rather reluctant decision. "Since you seem to return time and again, your coming with us, the rest of the humans are worthless to me at this point in the war. I don't need the extra baggage hanging onto my sore back." Turning from the three of them, Tal walked back to the crate that he had been sitting on for the majority of his injured period. "We are going to take off for the Dominion of the Beast, and the location where I've hid the crystal fragments first. Then we're going to advance upon the castle once again, and take the prize I so rightfully deserve."

"Yes, Lord Freyr." Tal, Dementia and Thoth cried out in unison.

* * *

An orb of light faded, throwing three bodies sprawling across the golden floor before the feet of the small group of young men and women. Standing up, they all instantly recognized the oddly shaped human as Kiro, the one they had talked to just moments before. The other two though caused anger and hate to rush swiftly through their bodies. 

"Chime." Ryokurio growled, taking a step forward and raising his fist in anger.

"Yukio." Akina murmured likewise, glaring at the long haired man.

"What in the world…?" Order stepped back, looking at the unexpected faces that now stood before her. She had felt the Orichalcos and the crystal power fade, so she brought Kiro and anyone in the area instantly to the chamber, but she hadn't expected the exact faces she would bring.

A humming noise broke into her thoughts as a bunch of duel disks in the small crowed activated, the duelists preparing to face off against their instant enemies.

"Where in the hell are we?" Yukio looked around, his arms up to ward off any physical attacks that might come from the group. "What is going on."

"That is a good question." Kiro growled, glaring at the small group. "Put those things away, now is not the time to duel anyone. Now is the time for someone, anyone, _everyone_. Explain to me what the hell is going on here."

"We have to take care of some business first it seems." Joe commented, pointing towards the two people who stood behind the green haired demon. "They are not welcome here. They are both working for Freyr I'm sure."

"I have never even heard of Freyr before today." Chime threw in, being instantly glared down by the group for speaking up.

"I'm not sure if I do either." Yukio threw in, though not intimidated by the group. "There is more here than I know, and I want to know what is going on. I'm getting tired of being thrown around like some rag doll."

Raising a claw to the group, Kiro squeezed it shut, sending a blast of red aura racing off of his fist into the surrounding air. "I don't care who is on whose side. We are all going to put our differences aside for the time being and tell me everything, or," opening his hand, a blast of aura raced off, pushing everyone back against their will with the extreme force. "I will be putting some blood onto this golden floor. I don't like being lied to. And I especially hate being kept in the dark. From the beginning…now!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Brain Jacker**  
200/900/2/Fiend/Dark  
FLIP: Equip this card to a monster on your opponent's side of the field and treat it as an Equip Card. Take control of the monster that is equipped with this card. Increase your opponent's Life Points by 500 points during each of his/her Standby Phase.

Kiro: "Evolution, it seems to be a strange process of advancing the situational element, be it human, insect, or even nature itself, in order to move to the next level of living. Have humans really advanced that much? They sure seem to have developed an interesting power, to allow something to go into one ear, and right out the other. How frustrating dealing with humans. Either way, Brain Jacker, an interesting monster that likes to latch onto an opponent's monster, giving you control of it. They'll gain 500 points, but sometimes, that monster is enough to cover the loss." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


	29. Movement! Zero Rising part 1

Episode 29: Movement! Zero Rising part 1

Flame erupted inside a dank cave, lighting up the towering rock walls with the flickering light. Dancing back and forth, the orb of fire finally ripped itself apart, dispersing the embers into the air. Inside the orb, knelt over, was Freyr. Behind him were Dementia, Thoth, and Tal, who all looked down sympathetic at their master.

"There." He growled, pointing towards the back wall of the cave. Looking up, the small group spotted a large array of crystal chunks, glistening in the small light coming through the opening of the cave. "This place was perfect to hide it in, the demonic aura that has been left of 10,000 years masked it all quite well."

"What?" Tal looked over at Dementia, who stood next to him and in-between him and Thoth. "What does he mean Mistress Dementia? What is this place exactly?"

"This is the cave where Freyr was sealed for 10,000 years, finally being able to grow power and break free with the power rift in the world most closely related to this one." Dementia look back at her master, who was stomping his way across the cave to the stash of crystal that lay before him. His back obviously hindering his movement, but his anger driving him forward. "It would have happened eventually, but it was sure nice of them to speed up the process."

"Who?" Tal question, getting an enraged glare from the purple skinned demon.

"A man by the name of Kiro Rinku." She responded, spitting a little bit in the human's face. Tal could see by the look on Thoth's face that he enjoyed seeing that. "He was the capsule of the guardians to the crystal. Kooru, Hebanu, and Heruru. He had to pass ten ancient trials when the ancient ones found that it was growing to dangerous to wait any longer.

"He passed, of course, and released the guardian's into the Earth. But even the ancient ones knew this was a double edged sword. By doing so, it created a power flux." Looking back up, Dementia saw Freyr sitting upon the ground, holding one of the crystal fragments in his enormous hand. "This cause Freyr to absorb the negative energy that floated the rift between the two worlds, increasing his power by double increments."

"So vampires aren't as stupid as they look." Freyr commented, making Dementia drop her jaw from the insult. Standing up slowly, Freyr turned to face the three in the cave. "Now you two, take this human and go back to the castle. I will remain here and conduct my business."

"Yes Lord Freyr." Tal and Thoth spoke up; Dementia however was a bit slow as she was unprepared to be totally insulted.

"Yes Lord Freyr." She threw in, the three of them walking slowly out of the cave.

* * *

Kiro leaned back against the golden wall, crossing his arms across his chest. Next to him, on both sides, were Kaira and Kooru, who both already had their arms crossed. Kooru had his head bowed, his eyes closed, while Kaira was just staring at Kooru. 

The group before him was divided into an oddity of smaller groups. Sitting in the golden throne by himself, was the zombie; Gurabe. Sitting at the golden table, also appearing to be busy with his own thoughts was the black robed man Deruku.

Joe, Kevin, Ryokurio and Usami all were leaning against the wall next to Gurabe, them all glaring at Yukio and Chime who were seated on the floor next to the large, golden double doors that lead into the hallway.

Akina, Sachiko and Order stood in a small group directly in front of Kiro. And Chao was sitting cross legged in front of them, staring up at Kiro.

"I see now." Kiro nodded, stepping away from the wall, he held up his ridged, black claw, staring at the deep grooves with lime green energy racing through them. "Now that I have the full story, things are starting to make sense."

"But that doesn't make things any easier." Kooru growled, stepping forward as well, despite his injuries. "I can't wait any longer, now that I've regained a good portion of my energy, I need to find my weapon." Looking directly at Order, he saw her nod in agreement. "I thought I was strong enough to take on Freyr like this, but apparently I need to reclaim my weapon in order to defeat him. That is priority number one for me."

"Do you really think you should go out there alone?" Kaira asked from her place on the wall. "I mean, I know your super human and all, but you've been incredibly wounded. Shouldn't someone go with you to help?"

"She's right." Chao agreed, kicking himself up off of the tiled floor. "I'll go with you Kooru."

"Even so, you mortal's shouldn't be running around alone." Gurabe called out, startling everyone. "I've been stuck here for far too long now. I'm going as well." Standing up from the throne, he reached down to the side and picking up the white duel disk that laid there. Strapping it onto his arm, he walked towards the demon and the silver haired human. "So let's go."

"Alright, than that is settled." Order smiled at the three of them, showing that it was a good plan. Turning, the three of them walked past the two that were seated by the door, and disappeared into the darkness of the hallway beyond. Turning back, here eyes locked with Kaira. "Should we go tend to the other two guardians again?"

"Yes, we should." Kaira agreed, pushing herself away from the wall and walking past the statue like Kiro.

"I'll be glad to help." Sachiko turned to order, who smiled warmly back.

"And I'll come too." Usami cried, running up. The small medical team formed, leaving the room moments later to tend for Heruru and Hebanu.

Deruku, Ryokurio, Joe, Kevin, Akina, and Kiro remained in the large chamber, silence washing over them with the tranquility of peace, yet a forcefulness that made the situation rough, and hard.

A combination growl and sigh came from Kiro as he turned; walking toward the far wall of the room that still had a big hole melted into it from Freyr's last visit. Looking out over the grassy hills that extended off into the distance, Kiro took in the sights of the horizon that lay beyond. Even though the sky was blanketed with shadows, the picture before him was indeed beautiful. You could not find much like it in the mechanized world that was Earth.

"_And here I thought I could escape all the strange things like this. Isn't it bad enough that I can't even let humans see my face?"_ Closing his eyes, Kiro focused on how he looked now. The enhancements that had been made due to the Seal of Orichalcos.

His hair was pulled up, stiff and hard with a sharp point at the end. In a Mohawk fashion, it went down his skull like a ridged spine, while the hair that lay off to the side had remained untouched. His eyes now were solid red gems, no iris, no pupil. The corners of his eyes were also pull up, and pointed off more, making him look really evil. His skin was a dark tone of gray that went up to the farthest most tip of his elf like ears. On his arms, the solid black, metal like skin still could be seen, with the cracks of green racing across his palms and up his forearms. His fingers were ridged, hard and pointed into a set of deadly claws. His feet felt the same, though he hadn't looked at them yet. All he knew was that there were holes in the bottoms of his shoes from slicing through them to grasp the ground.

"_I'm nothing but a monster. A hideous monster."_ His eyes opened, taking back in the scenery that lay beyond the hole in the wall. _"But they don't care, none of them do. To them, I'm a friend, and ally. And I've just met most of them. Who would have guessed that our lives were meant to have so much in common, yet we not even know it?"_

* * *

Trudging up a hill, Gurabe turned to look back down at Chao and Kooru who weren't to far behind him. Turning back, he looked out over the green fields, glistening in the moon's light. 

"So what exactly is this weapon were looking for?" Gurabe asked, watching as Kooru and Chao walked pasted him before he started to follow again.

"It's a weapon once wielded by Freyr himself. It is deadly." Kooru explained, stepping over a small mound of rocks that were lying randomly in the field. "I had stole it from him ages ago, but after our souls were separated, contained in seals, it was no longer needed and sealed away itself."

"Then how do you know where it is?" Chao questioned, hopping over another mound of stones that were blocking his path.

"It and I have a connection, cause of the aura and blood I've put onto it." Kooru explained, not even thinking twice about how strange that sounded. "It's not to hard to find, its just a distance away yet. We must keep moving."

"So, this thing was Freyr's weapon in that ancient war?" Gurabe continued the conversation, trotting up behind the two that were before him. "Wouldn't he be connected to it as well? And how can it be strong enough to beat him when you alone didn't stand a change. A weapon in merely a tool, it's the skills of the user that makes it great."

"In a sense, yes he is connected to it, because he made this weapon from a part of his own body." Kooru explained, giving off at a large rock-like mountain in the distance. Changing his course, he began to head towards that while continuing to talk. "It is made from the same power he has, so adding that power to mine; it puts us at the only advantage against him. And besides," turning to glare at the young zombie, Kooru thought about smacking him. "I'm a master in weapons combat. I wasn't the general of the Queen's army and head guardian of the crystal for nothing."

* * *

"What the…" Kiro growled, bracing himself before he was sent hurdling backwards from the hole in the wall, smashing against the golden wall right next to the throne. Bracing his body, he landed on his feet, glaring at the hole where he stood just a moment before, three strange beings standing there now. 

"Oh no." Joe growled, glaring at the three of them that appeared suddenly before them. "Dementia, Thoth and Tal, what the hell are the three of you doing here?"

"We are here to gain what we want." Thoth growled, slowly stepping forward. "What are you human scum doing standing around here. Shouldn't you be like, rotting in a ditch somewhere?"

"You'd only wish." Kiro growled, moving forward from his place against the wall. "But you'd be getting your way, and I personally am tired of people forcing to get their way."

Tal and Dementia stood back while Thoth exchanged a few more words with the gathered group before them. That is when Tal noticed it, a man amongst the group that made his blood boil.

"You…" He growled under his breath, stomping forward past Thoth. "YOU!" He yelled, singling out Kevin from the group with his extended finger. "It's been a long time, but I have a score to settle with you."

"Tal…you're sore because he beat you before?" Joe laughed, a bit amused at Tal's anger. "That is so pathetic, kind of what I'm expecting from you guys now-a-days."

"So now you're his little spokes-man bitch. What's the matter, can't your boyfriend speak for himself?" Tal mocked, holding up his left hand where his custom duel disk sat. The big, bulky duel disk looked like just a large, dome topped blue device with a large bar for a dueling field. Folding over, the bard revealed to be twice as large as a typical duel disk, becoming a table for him to play cards on. "If you aren't scared, then face me now! I have to pay you back!"

"_Well, this could work out in our favor."_ Dementia thought, crossing her arm. "Alright darling, you have fun with them; we've got more pressing matters to attend to." Dementia slowly walked forward, stopping when she was even with Thoth. Leaning over, she whispered something to her demonic partner. "While he does that, we could head back towards the crystal room. With any luck, the guardian's are still injured."

"Not a bad idea." Thoth muttered back, the two of them becoming engulfed in a brown and purple aura. Looking up at the back of Tal, Thoth smirked. "Yes, have fun with your little game human. Make sure you actually win." And with that, their bodies vanished, a stream blasting out as a trail behind their bodies.

Though Kiro saw what happened. He watched them take off running through the open doors. Thoth had incredible speed, faster than his thick body looked capable of. Bearing down, Kiro took off running after them, but since he was behind everyone, no one seemed to notice he had gone.

"Come on baby." Tal mocked, drawing Kevin up a bit with all of the insults. _"I can take you down here, once and for all."_

"Alright…" Kevin's voice was wobbly, for some reason, he felt almost scared to confront an opponent. _"What is wrong with me…?"_

"_Excellent!"_ Tal's lips curled into a sick smile. _"Not only did he accept, but he sounds flustered. This is proving to be an interesting, as well as easy, victory for me."_ Holding up his duel disk, the life point bar on it flipped vertical, unlocking a chamber inside of the duel disk where a small pad sat. Pulling out his deck, Tal sat in on the pad, the hatch closing around it. The life point bar lit up, reading 4000. "Now, its time to duel!"

"Right." Kevin held up his duel disk, the arms snapping into position like they typically did. Shaking a bit, Kevin lifted his deck and placed it into the deck slot. Shaking his head, he tried to steady his hand and prepare for the duel.

"Kev, you don't have to go through with this." Joe threw in, placing his hand on Kevin's shoulder. _"The poor guy seems so shaken up for some reason. Did Thoth really do something to him in their last duel?"_

"No, I'm fine." Kevin shook his head, smiling weakly at Joe. "I've beaten this guy before, and I'm sure I can do it again." Joe removed his hand from Kevin's shoulder, frowning a bit at how unsure Kevin really sounded. "I'll be fine."

"Let's hope so." Akina whispered under her breath, watching as Joe stepped back to give Kevin room for the duel.

"DUEL!" The two participants cried, the area becoming the battle ground for the oncoming game.

Kevin-4000 LP  
Tal-4000 LP

"Alright, I will let you start." Tal smirked, running his hand over a red gem. Out of a small slot on the side of the device, a card popped out. Grabbing it, Tal repeated this process four more times to create his hand of five to start the game.

"Fine." Kevin nodded, reaching for the deck in his duel disk. Looking down, he saw his hand trembling as it rested upon the deck. He closed his eyes, focusing all of his strength onto his right arm to try and steady it. _"I can do this…I can do this."_ He kept repeating in his head, counting five cards with the tips of his fingers. Pulling them off his deck in a glump, he opened his eyes to see what he had.

"_Come on Kev. Hold it together."_ Joe mentally cheered, watching as Kevin slid the five cards into his left and, then turning his duel disk up so it was level with him.

"Draw!" He called out, pulling the top card off of his deck and whipping it up so he could see its face. "I summon Mythical Beast Cerberus (1400/1400), attack mode!" He cried out, slapping the card down onto his duel disk.

The monster that appeared was that of a lion, with a long flowing teal and violet mane. Snapping back, the monster roared viciously, bearing its set of razor sharp teeth to the crowd. Landing on the ground, the beast's claws clanked against the floor.

A strange dolphin shaped creature was protruding from the right shoulder of lion, arching up onto its back. Around the body of the lion, was a dark blue armor as well, extending down to the tips of the spikes that ridged the monster's back.

"I end my turn." Kevin spoke, breathing a sigh of relief. He'd made it through one round just fine.

"Pitiful." Tal smirked, waving his hand over his censor. When his card popped out, he snatched it up and flipped it over. "Draw! And what an interesting draw it is!" Tal smirked, flipping it over for a brief second before slapping it down horizontally on his duel disk. "I special summon, due to his own effect; Zero Monster Trout! (0/0)"

"_Here we go."_ Kevin growled, watching a small magical fish creature appear hovering over its own horizontal turned card. The small fish was rainbow colored, with large, golden spike sticking out of its back, curving into a magical design.

"My Trout, the fish Zero Monster, allows him self to be special summoned when he is drawn, and during each of my standby phases, special summon all monsters in my hand with Zero Monster in their title." Sliding his hand over his cards, Tal smirked darkly as he pulled up two of them. "I special summon two monsters; Zero Monster Lava (0/0) and Zero Monster Death Serpent (0/0), both in attack mode!"

A blob of molten lava appeared next to the hovering fish monster. Shaping up, the beast formed a dome like head, with two dark black holes for eyes, and a ripping in the side of the lava blob for a mouth. On the other side of that, a large, gray and blue serpent slithered out of a rain of white sparks, glaring at its opponent with two gem-like teal colored eyes.

"And since my monsters are so weak." Tal smirked, slapping one of the cards from his hand onto his duel disk in the back row. "I set this card face-down, ending my turn for this round."

"Right, draw!" Kevin exclaimed, pulling the top card off his deck and looking at it. His eyes drifted down to his cowering hand, making the card shake between his fingers. _"No, dammit."_

Closing his eyes, Kevin took in a deep gulp of air, trying to settle his nerves. Opening his eyes, he stared at the three monsters on Tal's field while he moved the card he had drawn to his left hand.

"_Tal isn't fooling me with that remark. I know his monsters are weak, but I also remember they are incredibly powerful."_ Holding up his left hand, Kevin slowly moved his eyes to a green bordered card that he held. _"Perfect!"_ He smiled, trying to not break out shaking again. Grabbing the card, she whipped it through the air and slid it into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card; Ancient Rule! With it, I can special summon one normal monster that is level five or higher." Flipping around one of his cards, Tal saw that he indeed was preparing to call forth a powerful monster. "I summon the Dark Magician (2500/2100), attack mode!"

A large tan scroll appeared on the field before Kevin, a picture depicting a large blue dragon monster began to become life, spurting up a tower of water that gushed upwards to the ceiling of the room, high above their heads. The column though was soon ripped to shreds by a large green staff that came slicing through the base, producing the purple robed spell caster with his long pointed hat.

"But that isn't all my spell card did." Kevin waved his arm forward to his mutated lion monster, which started to glow with a strange navy colored aura. "Whenever a spell card is played, my monster gains a spell counter. This counter increases its attack power by 500 points."

Roaring, the monster snapped its mouth shut, the fangs of the beast crashing against one another in a deadly chomp. (1900/1400)

"This isn't going to work." Yukio growled under his breath, making Chime look over at the man standing next to her. "Tal's monsters can't be brought down by overwhelming might alone."

"Mythical Beast Cerberus attack! Destroy his Death Serpent now!" Kevin cried, his monster lunging forward. As it bounded through the air, Kevin felt some of his fear leaving, until it all came racing back to him. His monster hadn't gone after the snake, but instead the large blob of lava. "…what the…"

"Death Serpent effect activates!" Tal cried, pointing towards the blob of lava as he did. "When you attack, I get to choose the target of said attack, and I've chosen my Lava monster."

Landing on top of the blob of lava, the lion was instantly turned into a black torched skeleton, disintegrating onto the golden floor.

"And the effect of my Lava kicks in when it's attacked destroyed the monster instantly without any battle calculation." Tal explained, watching pleased as Kevin and his purple robed magician backed up a step at the sight of their comrade being destroyed so effortlessly.

"_That's right…"_ Kevin kicked himself for doing something so dumb. _"Tal wouldn't be pushed over so easy by an attack like that. A game with him is really a game on a different level then anyone is used to."_

Looking down, Kevin's eyes seemed to go temporarily blank as he stared at the pieces of cardboard in his hand. Nothing was registering with his brain though.

"_Is this all really hopeless…?"_

* * *

The high speed chase came to a sudden halt in the room containing the crystal. Dementia and Thoth took a step backwards as the green haired demon appeared before them, slicing his arm through the air to force them back. The wind catching up with him finally, whipping his cloths, and a medallion that was around his neck, off to one side briefly before things settled. 

"Don't even consider it." Kiro growled, crouching down to pounce on the opponents if he needed to. "This whole thing is coming to an end right here."

"Darling, back down and get out of our way." Dementia flicked her hair out of her face and over her shoulder. "You don't stand a chance against the two of us. Walk away now, while you still have both legs to walk away on."

"Shut up Dementia." Thoth growled, pushing her back with his arm to put her behind him. "I have some questions, and for him to answer, he needs to be here." After glaring at her from the side of his eye, Thoth focused on the young demon before them, who was glaring at them with a rock hard face. "So, what kind of demon exactly are you. And why is it that you possess the aura of two souls?"

"I'm the kind of demon that kicks your ass." Kiro growled, blatantly answering the tan skinned demon.

"Not funny." Thoth snarled, narrowing his glistening purple eyes at the young man.

"Wait." Dementia stepped forward, pointing at Kiro with her long, thin finger. The golden nail aiming directly for his chest. "He was the vessel I bet. He is how the guardians made it back into this world. It'd only make sense to pick something with both a human and a demon aura."

"So that explains the two soul frequency." Thoth looked from Dementia to Kiro. "Though you are horribly unbalanced. How is it that you can manage to keep yourself from simply, destroying your other self? One of your soul's wishes vengeance, and your other is too weak to fight back."

"I'm more talented than you." Kiro, again, blatantly answered Thoth with a smart-ass remark. _"That must be the crystal's doing, the one they gave me when they said that the accelerated demonic aura in my body was going to devour my weaker human aura."_ Kiro pondered, not letting his face show his thoughts of discovery and curiosity.

"What a vexing little cockroach." Dementia huffed, rolling her blood-red eye before taking a defiant pose. "Thoth, let's just squash him like the bug he is."

"Agreed."

"You know." Kiro interrupted, waving his claw through the air. "Funny thing about cockroaches." Curling up the edges of his lips, Kiro formed a dastardly smile that bared the top row of fangs. "They can be some tough ass resilient pests."

With that, Kiro lunged forward, slicing his claw with the intent to kill at the two of his opponents.

* * *

"And with your utter silence, I shall make my move." Tal waved his hand over the censor on his duel disk, a card popping out that he instantly held up to see what he had gotten. _"He's lost it, he can't think straight."_ Tal smirked, placing the card onto his duel disk in the back row. "I activate the magic card Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three new cards from my deck, at the cost of discarding twice." 

Again, waving his hand back and forth over the censor, Tal made the device produce three cards from the slot which he instantly picked up and fanned out.

"_My deck's fatal weakness is that I can't just play the equipments that correspond with the monsters from my hand. Not unless the monster was destroyed. Instead though, I am very capable of scraping them and reusing them later."_ Tal thought, grabbing the two cards that he had held in his hand before he had used his magic card, sliding them into the hole on his duel disk.

Kevin was listening, but his eyes were focused on the cross section of the floor, staring blankly at the fitting of the tiles together. _"Am I really as pathetic as Kaiba kept telling me I am…?"_

"Kevin, get your head in the game!" Joe yelled from behind him, trying to drag the boy's attention to the game once again. "Come on Kev, snap out of it already would ya!?"

"I normal summon Zero Monster Hawk Man (0/0), the winged-beast of my monsters." Tal announced his monster as he placed the card on to the front row of slots. Instantly, from behind him, shot up a shirtless man with two long, brown wings in place of his arms. Flipping around in mid-air, the bird man landed with his sharp talons crashing into the floor.

He stretched out his back, standing straight up to stare at the opponent. His face what that of a handsome man, but a large, golden beat protruded from where his nose and mouth would have been. His eyes were large and circular, constantly moving to take in all of the sights.

"As much as he's helped me, I'm sorry to say that I have to give him up." Tal spoke calmly, picking up one of the four monster cards he had on his dueling plate. "I sacrifice Zero Monster Trout, and 1000 life points, to activate the effect of my Hawk Man." Sliding the card into his graveyard, Tal snapped his arm out, pointing to the still blank Kevin with a thick, muscular finger. "I deal you 1000 points of direct damage!"

Kevin-3000 LP  
Tal-3000 LP

"Now I'm sure you'd think that move was a waste. That is, if you're even thinking at all." Tal mocked the motionless opponent. Holding up his duel disk, he grabbed one of the cards that was ejected and placed it on his duel disk. "But when my Zero Monster Trout went to the grave, I get to pull back on of the cards I discarded: Trout Scales." While Tal was speaking, a small hovering scale appeared before him, the same color as the monster that had just gone to the graveyard.

Smirking, he looked up at Kevin, who had actually brought his head up to look at the field.

"Good, you're with us. Alright princess, it's your move."

"…ok." Kevin nodded, sliding the top card off of his deck. His eyes blanked out on him before he even saw the cards face. _"What am I doing? There is no hope for me to win this. I'm nothing…I'm far too weak…"_ Closing his eyes, he inhaled a large breath of air into his lungs, releasing it slowly back out through his lips. _"Am I?"_ He began to wonder, his right hand sliding down to the side of his pants where he felt the glass jar bulge that was there. _"Or do I just believe that because I've lost my will to fight."_

Opening his eyes, Kevin looked at the back of the purple robed monster that stood on his field. The Dark Magician stared back at Kevin out of the corner of his eye, waiting for whatever order Kevin might throw at it.

"_Thoth may not have broken into my doubt on purpose, but he opened up a wound with his brutal plays. He made me feel helpless; nothing I could do would lay a scratch on him. He manipulated every single play to his advantage."_ Taking in another breath through his nose, Kevin slowly exhaled out of his mouth, a new confidence running through his body. _"I was scared that I couldn't do anything, since I lost you; dad._

"_But I am wrong. I tried to push on, but I was always scared. I have lost a few duels since your Blue-Eyes card was ripped up, but none as horrifying as that one I lost against Thoth. I shouldn't fear to fight again; I should try to become stronger, shouldn't I?"_ Looking up at the golden ceiling, Kevin let a small tear swell up in the corner of his eye before falling down his cheek. _"Even without it in my deck."_

His head came down, and the card he still held in his right hand came into view as he lifted his hand up. Reaching into his left hand, he pulled out another card and slapped it down onto his duel disk.

"I summon up my Skilled White Magician (1700/1900), attack mode!" A rain of lights fell across Kevin's dueling field, producing a man in a snow white robe. Silver colored shoulder pads across its upper torso, each shoulder and the mid point gleaming with sapphire blue orbs. In its hands it wielded a long, silver staff with a light blue orb resting at the very tip.

Holding up the card he drew, Kevin showed it to his opponent before adding it to his duel disk.

"I activate the magic card: Reload! By doing this, I can shuffle the three cards from my hand into my deck, drawing the same number." As he slid the cards on top of his deck, Kevin's monster began to glow, one of the orbs on its shoulders lighting up. Pulling his deck out of his duel disk, Kevin began to shuffle. "Like my Mystical Beast Cerberus, my Skilled White Magician is going to gain a spell counter every time a magic card is played."

Soon after, Kevin once again asserted the stack of cards into his duel disk. With a swift motion, he slid a clump of three cards off of his deck and fanned them open. A smile slowly drifted across his face.

"And with luck I've drawn this," Kevin flipped over one of the three cards he held with his right hand. Moving it towards his duel disk, he cried out its name as the holographic image appeared before him. "Spell Sphere World!"

"He's actually going to risk tying that?" Joe looked on as a transparent, blue tinted orb appeared before his buddy. A small, yellow colored circle appeared on the golden floor underneath it, sending a very dim pillar of light up, encompassing the sphere in light.

"What is it?" Ryokurio asked, leaning over to the young man. "Is it powerful?"

"Powerful, but risky in a sense." Joe commented back without taking his eyes off of the blue globe

"My Spell Sphere World will gain a spell counter every time we play magic cards." Kevin explained, smiling a bit about the card. "But more importantly first, it gives my second spell counter to my Skilled White Magician."

The opposite shoulder's orb began to glow brightly as Kevin predicted it would. Twirling its staff around triumphantly, he smashed it down onto the ground with a loud 'clank'

"Third magic card I need." Kevin grabbed one of the two cards in his hand, sliding it instantly into his duel disk. "Magic card: Magic Formula! An equipment that will give my Dark magician 700 more attack points. (3200/2100)"

In the hands of the purple robed monster appeared an ancient hard backed book, flipping open the tan pages to black text and spells only understandable by one of great magical power. Scanning over the page with his eyes, the dark magician smirked as his power and knowledge had grown immensely.

"Two spell counters are placed on my field then." Kevin announced, the blue orb infront of him gaining a small, red sphere of its own. Slowly, the sphere began to race around the orb, leaving a streak of pink behind it as it went.

Likewise, the center orb on the white robed monster began to glow, causing the monster to vanish in a wave of up rushing light.

"I sacrifice my Skilled White Magician along with his three spell counters to summon…" Yanking his deck out, Kevin fanned it open before he continued to speak. His eyes raced down the card faces until he came to one orange card that made him smile. "…Buster Blader (2600/2300)!"

Lashing up from behind Kevin was a large, purple armored swordsman with a giant single bladed saber being supported in both hands. Landing safely on the ground next to the magician, the large swordsman stood up straight, whipping its sword over its shoulder. The inhuman swordsman let out a slight groan of power as it had reached the field, its two beady eyes on its solid purple face stared at Tal and his monsters. Two, long flapping strand on the top of the monsters head came to a stop finally, as the monster awaited orders.

"I'll cover one card." Kevin announced, sliding one of the cards he held into his duel disk. The brown back image appearing before him. "And that is all I shall do during this round."

"_Hmm…"_ Tal growled in his head, looking over the field that Kevin erected so efficiently in his last turn. _"Seems like this kid has gotten back his will to fight after all. Well, in a way, that is for the best. I wouldn't want to just walk over him and claim my prize, I want to make him suffer and feel defeat when I hand it to him."_ Holding up his duel disk, Tal smirked as he prepared to take his turn. _"But no matter how strong of an arsenal you set against me boy, I will show you that your strength is nothing against my power."_

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Magic Formula**  
Equip Magic  
Only "Dark Magician" or "Dark Magician Girl" may be equipped with this card. Raise the equipped monsters attack points by 700 points. When this card is placed into the graveyard, you gain 1000 life points.

Joe: "My buddy Kev is back in the game! He's not going to let Tal win this one so easily, and here is one of the cards he's going to use to make a comeback. Magic Formula is a Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl only support card, but it's a handy life gainer if it's destroyed, plus gives a power boost while it's on the field. What can go wrong with that? It sure gave Kevin a powerhouse Dark Magician."

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	30. Movement! Zero Rising part 2

Episode 30: Movement! Zero Rising part 2

The candle light flickered, waving back and forth creating its endless pools of immense light and total darkness flooding across the room. Racing through the air, the light bounced off of the smooth, clear gem surface of the large stone that rested in the center of the room, shining brightly with its own inner power.

Light wasn't the only thing racing through the room at a speed incapable of being comprehended by human eyes.

Bounding through the air, Kiro snapped his right arm forward, only to have it crash into a locked place with Thoth's tan claw, causing the two of them to stop fully, becoming visible in mid-air.

Snarling at one another, the two of them began to fall slowly towards the ground, breaking their grip on one another and back flipping to the earth below. The second they landed, they both charged at one another again, like a mirror, locking claws again in a power struggle in the room.

Dementia watched from her place in the door way, smirking at the two demons battling it out before her. There was nothing she enjoyed more than a power struggle, especially with a high possibility of blood being spilled.

"I refuse to give in to you here." Kiro growled, using his whole body as a battering ram to tackled Thoth to the floor.

"You may not want to give in," Thoth snarled, keeping Kiro away from his body with his own strength, "but you will be dying here today!" And with that, Thoth managed to get his hind foot up into Kiro's chest, kicking the demon off of him and flying through the air.

Crashing against the floor, Kiro began to roll, launching off of the ground when his ridged black hand was flat on it. Twirling up, Kiro's body was spinning in mid-air for a few brief seconds before he got his feet under him and landed with another hard 'thud' on the tiled floor.

Flicking his own legs back, and snapping them forward, Thoth made an impressive springboard back to his own feet, glaring down his opponent.

"You fight better than I will give you credit for, Dual Soul." Thoth rubbed the tip of his long chin. Small scratches had appeared there from sometime in the battle. "Still nothing compared to my fighting ability though. This battle will be done with in a matter of minutes."

"I highly doubt that." Kiro flexed his claws, a bit of strain having been put on his fingers from grappling with his opponent. "You are good, but you over estimate your own prowess, and underestimate mine."

"_Typical guy thing."_ Dementia sighed, having had the fighting stopped for this exchanging of words. _"Always got to strut their stuff rather than just get their hands dirty…"_ Rolling her eyes, she waited to see if the action would start up again.

* * *

Tal's hand raced across the censor on his duel disk, a card shooting out of the slot which he instantly picked up and flipped it over so he could see what it was he had pulled out. Adding it to his hand, he acknowledged that it was to be used later, but for now he would save it. 

"Couldn't draw anything good, huh?" Kevin mocked slightly, watching as Tal shrugged in a vague answer.

"Drew something perfectly good, but a true duelist knows when to hold, and knows when to fold." Slowly pulling his left arm diagonal across his body, Tal held it before his face and smirked. "This is a time for me to hold, and for you to fold. I'm done with my turn."

"Like I'd give into you now." Kevin placed his finger tips on the top card of his duel disk. "When I've just now regained my self respect! My move, draw!" Looking at the only card he had in his hand, what he had drawn, his eyes widened and a smiled began to curl up the corners of his mouth. "I set this card face-down on my field to start with!" He announced, sliding the card into his duel disk. The brown backed hologram appeared next to Kevin's other set card with a ripple of light. _"Now what…?"_

Kevin looked up at the field. He was backed into a corner still, even if his monsters did have the most power. His Buster Blader at a powerful 2600, as well as his Dark Magician whose attack was being boosted by his Magic Formula card to 3200.

The only real weapon Kevin had was his continuous magic card; Spell Sphere World, which wouldn't be at full power until it had gained more counters. So far, it only had one, being represented by the small red comet circling the blue orb.

Tal though had him stuck. The three Zero Monsters he had out were powerful, and directed his attacks effortlessly. Zero Monster Lava would destroy anything that attacked it, which went perfectly with Tal's Zero Monster Death Serpent, with the power to redirect attacks.

Then his Hawk Man allowed him to destroy a monster on his field, to inflict 1000 points of damage to both players. After he did that on his own Zero Monster Trout, the only thing left was a rainbow colored scale hovering inches above and slightly to the right of a set card on his field.

"I end my turn." Kevin called out, moving his arm away from the slot where he had just inserted a card. Letting it flop to his side, Kevin took a deep breath to relax himself, reassuring him that he was strong. Rubbing the side of his pocked, he felt the glass jar inside. _"Father, I will be strong for you, not because of you."_

"Heh, of course you do." Tal waved his hand over the censor again, grabbing the ejected card with ease and moving it to his left hand. _"This kid can't do anything against me; I've got him back into a corner."_ Looking over what he had, all he had to do was keep building his resources until he could successfully wipe Kevin out. He was not worried about the duel. "I end my turn."

"We are just going to keep passing, and this game is going to get boring." Kevin whipped his hand down, pointing towards his two set cards. "So how about this, I activate one of my set cards; Ring of Destruction!"

Blasting out from the purple bordered card, the ring of grenades spiraled across the field, lodging itself deep within the blob of molten lava that rested on Tal's field. Instantly, the bombs detonated, causing the mass of lava to explode into small globs across the field. The only thing left after the explosion, was one small tear-drop shaped piece of lava hovering in the air.

"My Ring of Destruction destroys one monster on the field, giving us damage equal to the attack of the monster." Kevin explained, sliding the card into his graveyard slot. "Seeing how it didn't have _any_, we take no damage."

"But, seeing how you did destroy my monster." Tal called out, the hatch on his duel disk opening up. "I do get to play my equipment card that went along with my monster." Holding up a card, Tal instantly placed it on the back row of his duel disk. "Lava Drop!"

"Lucky for me, it doesn't matter." Kevin smirked, pulling the top card off of his deck to start his turn. Palming the card, Kevin pointed with his index finger as he roared out his command: "I've got you now, with no way to protect yourself. Buster Blader attack! Destroy his Death Serpent with your Dragon Slaying Sword!"

Lifting the hefty sword, the armored monster raced across the field, slicing downwards across the snake's body; causing it to instantly explode into tiny data fragments.

Tal, who still had his deck fanned out before him, pull out another card and slapped it down onto his duel disk. "Equipment Magic card: Death Serpent Fangs." And with that, a pair of razor sharp teeth appeared in the spot where the gray snake once sat.

Kevin-3000 LP  
Tal-400 LP

"This is over!" Kevin cried out, his arm still thrust forward, pointing at the strange bird man. "Dark Magician, destroy his Hawk Man now with your Black Magic Spell!" Winding his staff back, the robed magician sent a ball of purple and black energy rocketing towards the strange man.

"He's gonna do it!" Joe smiled wide. Akina next to him jumping slightly as well.

"No he's not." Tal closed his eyes, the deck of cards still fanned out before him. As the blast of magical energy crashed into the half bird, half human creature, a large explosion of flames and feathers went racing across the field.

Kevin-3000 LP  
Tal-400 LP

"My set card is known as Zeroing it all Out. A card that negates any damage I would take from a battle involving a monster with zero attack points." Tal explained, holding up a green bordered card as he spoke. "And as my Hawk Man goes to the grave, I get to play Hawk Feathers!"

The feathers fluttering around the field finally converged into a solid ball of feathers hovering on Tal's field.

Around the hovering blue sphere on Kevin's field, three more red comets began to circle around, leaving streaks of red and pink in their wake as they criss-crossed across the surface.

"My Spell Sphere World gains three more counters, making four total!" Kevin announced, looking down at the single card in his hand. _"If only I had another magic card to use."_ He sighed, looking up at his opponent. "I end my turn."

"My turn then!" Tal spoke, shuffling his deck and sliding it back into the slot in his duel disk. Holding it up, the hatches closed down over the deck, locking back into place. Draw!" Tal cried out, sliding his hand over the scanner again, drawing a new card from his deck. Smirking, he rotated it around and slid it into his hand of cards. Taking another card he was holding he quickly slapped it down onto the front row of slots on the duel disk. "I summon out this monsters: Zero Monster Alforce!"

Before Tal appeared the warrior monster, clad in a blue and red jump suit that covered his entire body, including his entire face and head. On his arms and hands were large, stone gloves that it crashed together in an attempt to scare its foes. (0/0)

"So tell me, do you remember that I had to discard two cards when I used my Graceful Charity magic card?" Tal questioned, sliding a card from his hand into his duel disk.

"Vaguely, why?" Kevin cocked his eyebrow as the hologram of the magic card appeared next to Tal.

"Because I discarded two cards I couldn't use; two Zero Monster's equipments." The magic card began to glow, sending the streaming light right into Tal's graveyard slot. "My equipment cards can't be played on the field unless they are specifically brought there by my monsters' effect…or this card. Zero Weapon Recycle pulls back the discarded equipment to my field."

A pair of green scale-rimed, silver wings appeared next to all of the other obscure floating items.

"Dragon Bain Wings; the equipment of my Zero Monster Dragon Bain who is still somewhere deep in my deck." Tal smirked, watching as the wings began to flutter, slowly moving forwards and landing on the back of the warrior monster. "And just like the monsters, the equipments carry the same special powers. In this case, the wings allow me to attack every monster on your side of the field once this turn."

Reaching out with its long, suited arm, the warrior monster took a hold of the floating teardrop of lava, holding it tightly to his chest while it seemed to seep into its skin.

"I'm also going to equip my monster with my Lava Drop card, making it perfectly immune to your attacks." Tal smirked, holding his arm up, his finger extended towards Kevin's two powerful monsters. "Attack! Destroy both of his monsters with your fists!"

Crouching down, the suited warrior sprung up, racing across the field. The scaled wings beginning to flap with a large 'whoosh' as it pummeled through the air, sending the warrior airborne. Winding back it's metal armored fist, the monster plowed it into the face of the black armored warrior; Buster Blader, causing him to explode instantly. Then, with incredible speed, the monster twirled around socking the purple robed monster right in the gut.

With a thud, the book he was holding crashed to the floor before exploding into tiny data triangles. Following suit, the groaning magician clasped his arms across his stomach before exploding. The green staff made a metallic-sound-like collision against the tiled floor before it exploded as well.

Kevin growled as the three cards were slid into his graveyard. The powerful force he erected was suddenly shot down, crumbling like a stone wall before his very eyes. Doubt began to well up inside of him, but his will was stronger now, repressing that feeling before it could swallow him whole.

Kevin-4000 LP  
Tal-400 LP

"I use the power of my Magic Formula, giving me 1000 life points when its sent to the grave." Kevin began, his voice stammering slightly but he held his ground. "So," he began to speak again, glaring at Tal and the warrior monster landing back on the field before its master. "Your monster is able to destroy whatever it attacks, ne?"

"Bingo." Tal smirked, pleased that Kevin was smart enough to figure out his monster's power. "So I have nothing more I can do, I end my turn."

"So you think." Kevin rubbed his index finger under his nose. "During your end phase I'm activating my set card. Rise up; Call of the Haunted!" Feeling a rush of energy bursting across the field, the duelists watched as the black armored warrior that once lived on Kevin's field, began to rise up again in a mix of white sparks and purple smoke. "With this card, I am choosing to revive my Buster Blader, equipping it with my Call of the Haunted trap."

"Your revival trap won't help you any." Tal mocked, motioning to the suited warrior on his field. "Or did you forget that I equipped my Alforce with Lava Drop, giving him all the power of Zero Monster Lava. He's indestructible on offense and defense!"

"But you forgot one thing." Kevin stated as he slid the top card off of his deck. "With all of your throwing magic around, my Spell Sphere World has gained the five counters it needed to work."

"What?" Tal's eyes drifted slowly to the floating sphere that he had completely forgotten about. Around it in perfect orbit were five red glowing orbs circled with incredible speed. "What does that thing do?"

"You'll just have to find out. Go Spell Sphere World, reveal your true form!" Kevin whipped his right arm across his body, jerking his deck from its place in Kevin's duel disk.

Hissing with energy, the orbs around the mini-planet began to shrink in, merging into the surface of it, dying the color of the sphere a dark blood red. A mechanical clank could be heard right before a flash of light consumed the orb, revealing a moment latter a large steel blade hovering off one end of the large orb, on the other end floating was a large hilt to the sword. Gleaming with light, the sword rushed through the air, falling firmly into place in the hands of Kevin's Buster Blader.

"When my Spell Sphere World has five counters I can destroy it, playing from my hand, deck or graveyard one Full Magic Saber – Universe Cracker!" Kevin announced, sliding the said card from his deck into his duel disk. Shuffling his deck, he continued to explain the powerful new card. "It can only be equipped to spellcasters or warriors, but it is indestructible by magic or trap effect. Furthermore, it's going to give my Buster Blader an incredible amount of power to deal with your whole strategy. Just you watch."

Sliding his deck back into its slot, Kevin looked up at Tal, smirking. He rose up his left hand, showing the back of the two cards he was holding. Grasping those two cards in his right hand, he instantly slid those into his graveyard slot.

"My Full Magic Saber – Universe Cracker has three abilities. One is it can destroy all magic and trap cards on your field. Two is that it can destroy up to two monsters on the field. Or thee, the one I am choosing to activate, is by discarding two cards from my hand I am able to activate the first two effects."

"WHAT?!" Tal's eyes widened, his gaze focusing on the warrior monster as he wielded back the large saber, preparing to strike.

"Of course, to use any of the effects my sword has, I lose the ability to attack with the equipped monster this turn." Kevin announced, sliding his arm forward. "A small price to pay in order to wipe you completely out!"

Slicing the sword through the air, Buster Blader sent a wave of black and red energy bursting from the blade. Cruising through the air, the energy crashed into Tal's field, decimating everything in its path.

Tal whipped back, shielding his eyes from the massive collection of light gathering on his field. When it died down, Tal looked over his arm to see his field wiped completely clean, only plumbs of smoke where cards once sat remained, twisting their way into the air.

"It's your turn to try and deal with my monster." Kevin smirked, his confidence wavering, but growing with the power boost he just took over Tal.

* * *

Kiro felt his body heavy as it whipped through the air against the wind, his chest growing numb from the powerful hit he had just taken. Smashing against a hard wall, he could hear the cracking of the cement behind the golden tile, feeling the indent he had made. Sliding down to the ground before, he looked up at Thoth who was walking slowly forward towards him, cracking his knuckles as he went. 

"Shouldn't let your guard down like that." He smirked, having just cheap shot Kiro in the chest. "But it wouldn't matter I guess, your defense is so pathetic that it's almost non-existent."

"Shut up!" Kiro hissed, rubbing a trail of blood off his chin.

"_Well this is growing boring."_ Dementia sighed, watching the scene at the edge of the room. Looking forward, her inhuman eyes locked on the large crystal in the center of the room. _"So I might as well be doing something productive."_ She smiled to herself, slowly walking forward across the chamber toward the large crystal.

Out of the corner of her eye she watched Thoth wrap his thick hand around Kiro's neck, lifting him up off of the ground. Knowing full well he had that covered, she brought her focus back to her goal.

"Soon, this will all belong to Lord Freyr." She muttered under her breath, inching ever closer to the crystal.

Kiro watched her moving towards the crystal over Thoth's shoulder. His claws wrapped around Thoth's in an attempt to pull the tan skinned demon off of his throat. The hit had knocked the wind out of him, so he was a bit flustered.

"_Can't let her get to the crystal. Especially if it's really as dangerous and as powerful as I was told."_ Kiro growled, bringing his red, gem like eyes back to Thoth as the beast increased the pressure, cutting off all of Kiro's air.

"Die Dual Soul…" Thoth growled as he continued to chock his victim.

"_No!"_ Kiro screamed in his mind as he whipped up his feet, landing them on the chest of the beast. Through the holes already in the bottom of his shoes, Kiro stuck his claws forward, piercing into the chest of the Egyptian demon.

With a mighty thrust, Kiro pushed the beast off of him, throwing him backwards onto the golden tile, ten bleeding holes appearing on the chest of the monster.

"What?" Dementia looked towards Thoth and Kiro having heard the large thump. What was in front of her though wasn't what she expected. Inches from her face was the dark gray skinned beast that was Kiro. Reaching out he wrapped his claw around her face, digging in slightly to draw blood.

"Get out of her." Kiro snarled, snapping his arm off to the side, throwing the purple skinned vampire towards the doorway to the room.

With incredible strength the female vampire went flying through the air, landing outside of the room with a loud thump, sliding across the tiled floor.

* * *

"Damn you." Tal hissed under his breath, whipping his arm forward across the red gem censor on his duel disk, grabbing the card that it spit out. _"He's backed me into the corner. I have nothing that could compete with that card. I was careless and let it get to far. If he draws a monster, this duel is over…"_

Taking a card from his hand he slapped it down onto his duel disk.

"I summon Zero Monster Boulder (0/0)." Tal hissed out, watching as a tan colored rock appeared before him. Around the rock was a large, stretched out necklace with beads made from different colored stones. "This is all I can do."

"Good, draw!" Kevin yelled out, snapping the top card off of his deck and looking at it. _"Dang, not what I needed. But, I guess it doesn't really matter. Full Magic Saber – Universe Cracker may be a bit harder to pull out then your average equipment card, but its well worth it. It is by far the best card to deal with Tal and his tactics, ripping him apart."_ Lifting up his hand, he palmed the card as he extended his index finger out towards the large rock. "Go Buster Blader, attack and destroy his Zero Monster Boulder!"

Whipping the sword back up over its shoulder, the black armored monster launched himself high into the air, coming directly down onto the rock, bringing the razor sharp edge of the blade through the rock like a hot knife through butter, slicing it perfectly into two pieces.

"My Zero Monster Boulder shifts itself to defense mode before the attack hits thanks to his own special effect." Tal grunted, picking up the card and sliding it into his graveyard slot. From his hand he pulled out one of the three cards there and put it into his duel disk. "And from my hand I activate Boulder Necklace."

The large necklace with bead like stones strung through it appeared hovering next to Tal. Though Tal didn't seem to mind, or didn't seem happy about it either. His face was pulled into a scowl, annoyed that Kevin was getting the best of him. He so badly wanted revenge on him.

"It's your turn." Kevin smiled, running his fingers through his hair.

"Good, draw!" Tal yelled out, swiping his hand over the censor and grabbing the card that was ejected. "I summon in defense mode Zero Monster Tortoise (0/0)!"

A massive brown skinned turtle with an emerald green shell materialized on Tal's field. Pulling its head back into its shell, the beast let out a low rumbling growl as it yanked back in all of its limbs as well.

"I'm done with my turn." Tal announced, lowering his head to watch Kevin draw from the tops of his eyes. _"Tortoise is a bit different. If he chooses to attack it, he'll be stopped in his tracks. Tortoise gains defense points equal to the attack points of the first monster to attack it a turn."_

Kevin looked down at the card he held, smirking a bit to himself as he did. This set Tal off, his stratigy was running down the drain if he had drawn a monster.

"You pulled a powerful enough monster card to finish this, haven't you?" Tal called out, watching as Kevin looked up from the card and shook his head 'no'. "Then…what did you draw?"

"I drew a magic card." Kevin smirked, sliding it into his duel disk. "And it is just the card I need to finish this game right now. I activate: Oracles Rage Incarnate Seal of Power - Jade Crystal!"

"Your crystal card!" Tal gasped, a fit of surprise ran through him, as well as everyone else in the room. Yukio and Chime especially, still quite unaware of what these crystal cards really were, but both having seen them in action.

Bathing itself in the light green aura that rushed around him, the black armored warrior snapped the sword up high over his head, letting out a fierce battle cry as large, jade colored crystal spikes began to pop through his armor, jutting out and glowing brightly.

Kevin too began to groan as a pillar of jade colored light washed up around him, seeping into him as the duel disk strapped to his arm sent out a massive blast of green lightning bolts.

On his forehead, a large circle began to form, drawing lines across it yanked to one side. The outline formed that of a crescent moon, glowing brightly over his two eyes, which burned with a fierce power.

Lowering his own head as well as the sword, the Buster Blader revealed that he two had the large circle on his forehead, sending jade colored bolts of lightning racing down his face, and all across his body to the large crystal pillars on his skin. (3100/2300)

"The Jade crystal gives the equipped monster 500 additional points to use to his advantage." Kevin announced, his voice growling slightly as he talked. "Also transforming him into the most powerful form of monster that there ever was. Fear it! Buster Blader Jade Mode, attack Tal directly now! Jade Universe Cracker!"

Launching himself in the air, the Buster Blader left a tail of jade colored light in its wake. Twisting in the air, the monster came racing towards the opponent with great force, roaring out its battle cry.

"The Jade Crystal allows me to attack you directly, regardless of the monsters you have on the field." Kevin snapped up his hand, his palm towards Tal. "This is the end!"

Ripping the sword forward, the holographic image of the space between the sword and Tal shattering into an odd void on the other side, swirling with dark navy colors.

Tal let out a scream as the pain rushed through his body, his life point counter beeping loudly as it raced down to zero.

Kevin-4000 LP  
Tal-0 LP

The gap in space healed up as the monsters all vanished from the field, leaving nothing between Kevin and Tal. It didn't matter though as Tal collapsed to his knees, both from the pure strain, and from his failure to take revenge.

"_I did it."_ Kevin smiled, his body feeling incredibly light as the power of the crystal faded, ejecting itself from the slot on the duel disk and floating slowly to the ground.

His hand moved over the bulge in his pocket, feeling the glass jar with his shredded Blue-Eyes in it.

"_I have my own strength. It's perfectly useable."_ Looking up, he saw Tal getting to his feet, turning and walking to the hole in the wall and looking out over the dark landscape, a bit lost in his own thoughts. _"I will keep growing stronger, father. I know I can do it. I'll make you proud of me."_

"You've lost, now scram." Joe interrupted everyone's thoughts yelling at Tal. "You obviously don't have the strength to compete with us, so leave."

"You…" Tal, who didn't even flinch at Joe's yelling, began to turn around, glaring at the young boy with a killer gaze. "Celebrate all you want, but you've won nothing here."

"What do you mean?" Akina chimed in, walking up next to Joe as she spoke.

"I don't know. I know though that there is something building. I'm just a grunt man, like all the others." Tal flicked his hand up, motioning with his thumb towards the blue haired man standing next to the large, open double doors to the room with the green haired woman next to him. "Just like Yukio over there."

"Yeah…" Joe began, looking where Tal pointed at the two people there. "I'm not quite sure what they are doing here either. You can gladly take them with you."

"Hey!" Chime yelled, feeling slightly insulted. "I have no part of anything with them. I'm not even sure what is going on with them."

"We didn't either." Yukio growled in, interrupted Chime and caused everyone to look at him. Looking up, he glared directly at Tal. "I don't have the slightest clue what Freyr is doing, and I doubt you have any better idea. You are right; you and, formerly, I were nothing but grunt men. Mindless humans to that beast."

"Maybe so, but I'm sure you'll be punished for betraying him. Where are Hygin and Archip? Shouldn't they be with you?" Tal questioned, also raising his hand to point to the woman next to him. "And who exactly are you? I don't believe I've ever come across you before."

"This is getting slightly confusing." Ryokurio admitted, looking around. "So you had no clue who Chime was, meaning she wasn't really connected to Freyr like she said."

"You should believe me more." Chime growled, pulling some of her long, green hair out of her face to glare at him with her deep forest green eyes.

"Probably, but you aren't exactly trustworthy." Ryokurio stated, getting a grunt and a 'that's for sure' from Joe as he muttered under his breath. Ignoring it, Ryokurio continued, looking at Yukio. "And whose side are you on?"

"As far as I know no ones anymore." Yukio growled, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall. "This is all to confusing for me. I'm on my own side."

"We don't need more sides." Joe threw out, a bit annoyed at the remark. "We already have too many sides to this fight. Ours, Freyr's, whatever the hell side Ronin is on."

"Ah yes, Ronin." Tal smirked, dragging all of their heads back to him. "How is that whole fiasco playing out for you? I noticed him and your little fire friend isn't here right now."

"Reku…" Akina muttered, her voice beginning to tremble as she though about the love of her life, still missing.

"With any luck Ronin's new deck has enough force to wipe them both off the face of the planet. Two less pest to worry about." Tal chuckled at his own joke, getting glares from everyone in the room except Deruku and Akina who were both just looking down.

"You sound as if you know about it personally." Kevin spoke up for the first time in the conversation, getting an odd look back from Tal.

"Of course I know about it personally. It was me that understood Dementia's power, understood Ronin's inner turmoil, and it was me that dug into my collection of rare cards I obtained while working at Industrial Illusions and gave him some incredibly powerful cards to feed off his inner darkness."

"You…" Joe gritted his teeth, his fists in tight balls at his sides. "…bastard…"

* * *

Kiro watched out of the corner of his eye Thoth picking himself up off the ground, looking down at the ten wounds on his chest. Looking up, he bared a set of razor sharp teeth at Kiro, growling deep in his throat. 

"Lucky shot." He hissed out between clamped teeth, glaring at Kiro. Slowly turning, Kiro stood to face the demon with his shoulders spread wide, and an iron determination in his voice.

"Consider that payback for your cheap shot on me." Kiro replied, crouching down into a battle stance incase the demon wanted to continue the fight. Apart from his wounds, Thoth seemed virtually unphazed by the fight, while Kiro could feel his energy dwindling. "You want more? Next time I'll rip you to shreds!"

"Just try it." Thoth hissed, crouching down himself, deciding the best course of action.

"How dare he?!" A female voice bellowed out from the door of the room, cause both demons to rip their heads up to glare at the purple skinned vampiress who had interrupted them. Lines of blood trickled down her face, a look of hate burning inside her golden eyes as she glared at Kiro. "You! You will pay for this. Mark my words, I shall take my revenge on you for ruining my perfect face!"

"Perfect face?" Kiro chuckled at his own joke. "A face that could shatter glass and turn the shards into sand that is."

"Enough compliments." Thoth spoke as he took off at full speed, appearing next to Dementia within seconds. "I think we've had enough here. I thought the guardians were put out of commission, I didn't count on a Dual Soul here to guard in their place." Thoth placed his tan hand on the shoulder of the vampire, making her look up at him as he stared at the demon before him. "You've made powerful enemies here today, you'd been best staying out of a fight I already know you don't understand. You don't show the understanding in your heart of what that thing behind you really is." Thoth pointed with his free hand towards the large crystal.

"So?" Kiro growled back. "I may not have the experience with it as some people I'm getting to know, but I'll still fight to protect it, because I'm connected to it still." Reaching up, he grasped the medallion that dangled around his neck, squeezing it tightly between his raven black fingers. "I won't let you win while I'm still breathing."

"We'll just have to solve that problem, won't we?" Gripping Dementia's shoulder tighter, the two of them vanished from the plain of sight a human eye could comprehend. Kiro watched as the two of them raced back down the hall the way they had come. With his own incredible burst of speed, he took off racing through the castle as the chase started once again.

* * *

Joe felt his rage boiling inside of him. He was set on charging Tal, taking out some of his aggression on the man who was so smug about the destruction of their friend's heart. 

As he took in a breath to began his charge, Tal vanished right before his eyes. The buff man was just gone, no trace of him left to be seen. Instead, a green haired demon stood in front of the stalled Joe, glaring at the large hole in the wall.

"Don't bother." Kiro spoke, turning to look at Joe. "Thoth and Dementia got a hold of him and are off running again."

"Brother." Chime spoke up, causing Kiro to look at her. "What…happened?"

"Thoth and Dementia went for the crystal." He spoke, turning around face her. "I fended them off, but I was still no match for them. They just decided to retreat for no reason it seemed."

"I think you caught them off guard." Deruku, speaking for the first time in ages, finally said, rising from his place at the table. "They figured Kooru, Heruru, and Hebanu were the only guards we had that could compete with them, and they figured those three to be out of commission at the moment."

"That's what Thoth said." Kiro nodded, looking back at the black robed man. "But even so, they had the upper hand, they didn't need to run."

"They are most likely up to something." Deruku rushed past the table, heading for the doors of the room. "I have to go prepare for something."

"For what?" Akina questioned quickly as the black robed man made it to the door, gripping it tightly between his fingers as he looked back at the whole group.

"The worst." And with that, Deruku vanished though the doorway and down the hall.

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Full Magic Saber – Universe Cracker**  
Equip Magic  
This card cannot be played on the field except by the effect of Spell Sphere World. This card may not be destroyed by Magic or Trap effect. Equip this card only to a face-up Spellcaster or Warrior type monster. Once per turn, you may activate one of the following effects at the cost of this monster attacking this turn.  
-Destroy all magic and trap cards on the opponent's side of the field.  
-Destroy up to two face-up monsters on the opponent's side of the field.  
-Discard two cards from your hand to activate both of the above effects.

Tal: "This is a powerful equipment card that Kevin used on me that completely devastated my deck. Next time I face him, I'll have to be much better prepared to face this card. Though it is hard to bring out, needing to be played through Spell Sphere World, it more than makes up for it. It can, once a turn, destroy all magic and traps around, or up to two monsters! The worst part is, if you pay two cards from your hand, you can do both. Very handy card…very annoying card."

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	31. Rusted Bindings

Episode 31: Rusted Bindings

Kooru, Gurabe and Chao breached the top of another lush green grassed hill, staring out at the dark landscape before them. The night sky was lit up by three glowing moons, casting their eerie glow onto the rolling hills that stretched out before them.

"We're going to be going all night, aren't we?" Gurabe began to complain, looking down the side of the hill. This one was a bit steeper than the last couple of hills they had scaled, leading down into a rocky ravine below.

"I need to get my weapon, or we stand no chance of stopping Freyr." Kooru countered, beginning to walk down a less steep side of the hill. "Nobody said you had to come along. You are welcome to turn back."

"It's not that…wait a second you two." Gurabe couldn't see for sure, but down in the little chasm where he was looking, it looked like a graveyard of some sort. "What is that?" Pointing, he got Kooru and Chao to look over the edge at it as well, both of them cocking their heads at the strange rocky patch below.

"That looks like a chunk of scrap metal." Chao pointed out a large, brown object protruding from the dirt below. "And those look like other mechanical parts. That looks to be some junkyard."

Standing up straight, Kooru looked back off in the distance towards a large rocky peak where he was headed. Turning back to the two of them, he sighed deeply.

"As interesting as that is, think we should keep going?"

"Yeah." Chao said, stretching out his back as he stood up straight again. "Doesn't look like there is anything worth value down there anyways."

"Mhm." Gurabe stood up himself, looking at the other two. "It's just kind of weird to see things like that here." Gurabe motioned to the lush hills that were all around them. The flowing, tall grass that swayed gently in the breeze. "I've never actually looked around the monster world. Every time I've been here we've been confined to the castle."

"Good reason too." Kooru spoke, catching both of his companions interests instantly. "This world is inhabited with many, many duel spirits. Very dangerous to be wondering around for no reason." Turning, he began to walk down the hill. "Don't take any unnecessary risks…"

Kooru turned, knowing that something was wrong. Looking at the two people behind him he saw them both, literally, hovering inches off of the ground. Their left arms high in the air, seeming to be being held there by their duel disks.

"This is bad." Kooru realized, watching as the zombie and the silver haired man were jerked over the edge of the hill, being dragged through the air by their duel disks towards the patch of dirt that they were staring at before. Growling, Kooru himself leapt over the side of the hill, racing down the slope to save his two companions.

"What's going on?" Chao cried over to Kooru as he bounded down the hill next to them while they were flying freely through the air.

"I have no clue." Kooru yelled back, taking it more carefully as the slop was turning rocky, becoming jagged as he went. "Hold on!" He screamed, bounding off of the side of the hill and grabbing both of the duelists out of the air, flipping a few times before the three of them made a not-so-soft landing on the rocky ground below.

Gurabe's and Chao's arms, which were still pulled tight out to the side, finally dropped to the ground with two simultaneous 'thuds'.

"This is just lovely." Kooru growled, having aggravated one of his wounds as he stood up, Chao and Gurabe doing the same as he got off of them.

"No kidding." Chao groaned, rubbing his arm as he looked around. "That wasn't exactly the funest way down the hill."

The three of them when silent as a loud clicking noise came echoing through the little valley, causing them to all look around for the source of the noise. As they looked, they actually saw what kind of place they were in.

Large chunks of scrap metal as Chao though were sticking up out of the ground. Large gears of all different sizes, some broken, some whole, some incredibly rusted laid all over the place. Some metallic boxes with wiring handing out of the cracked and broken sides. It looked like a machine graveyard.

The source of the clicking became apparent as a brown skinned monster in green armor appeared from behind a chunk of scrap metal. Between its hands was a stack of brown backed cards, as he shuffled them, they click and echoed off of the sheets of metal.

Across this man's waist, across its right, across the back of his right hand and on his left elbow, large, silver colored gears were protruding outwards.

"Monster spirit." Kooru growled, watching as the little man came walking towards them, looking at them with glowing yellow eyes.

"It's Mighty Guard!" Chao realized, pointing to the monster. "It's…some common normal monster card with like…500 attack points and 1200 defense." Letting his arm fall back to his side, he stared at the deck between its hands. "Does it want to duel or what?"

"Looks like it." Gurabe replied, watching as the monster bent down, picking up a large gear shaped device off the ground. Sliding his left arm through it, the device began to glow, slowly rearranging its molecular state into a large duel disk.

"We don't have time for this." Kooru growled, turning to find a way out of the little valley. "We have too much to do to be dueling now."

"…You will not make it out of here unless you win..." The monster spoke, scaring all three of the travelers. Its voice was a low rumble, very mechanical sounding with a slight echo to it with its own voice.

"We don't have time to play your stupid game. And we will make it out of here, because we will walk right out. Come on." He spoke both to the machine and the two men standing by him as he turned to walk towards what was most likely the exit to the valley. The rolling hills created uneven ground in the area so it was hard to see past them to what actually they were walking towards.

"…I cannot allow that…" The monster's loud voice boomed out; cause the whole valley to begin to shake violently.

In front of Kooru, Chao and Gurabe shot up a large, rusted steel plate blocking their path. Stretching high into the air, it cast its long shadow over the entire valley, obscuring the three moons light. Stretching from wall to wall of the valley, the large plate cut them off from leaving.

"…Stay and play a while…"

"Why are you doing this?" Chao growled, a bit annoyed at the monster that stood in front of them.

"…I am a guardian to this graveyard. Many friends rest here. No matter your intent, I must test the group that trespasses in my area to find their true feelings…" Sliding the stack of cards into an opening on the large gear on his arm, he looked back up at the three of them. "…Which one of you would like to represent your group?..."

"_If I was feeling better, I could knock this guy out, and get these two out of here without having to waste my time."_ Kooru growled to himself, irritated by the situation. He felt his body was heavy beneath his head. The wounds that had not yet healed, or had reopened, sending dagger like shots of pain through his spine.

"Fine." Gurabe growled, lifting up his duel disk. The arms on it snapping outwards and forming the duel tray for the game. "I'll get this over with so that we can get back to what we were doing."

"You'd better." Kooru warned, patting Gurabe on his shoulder. "We don't have much time left. Who knows what Freyr is planning to do…or when he plans to move."

"I know." Gurabe growled at how annoying Kooru sounded. Taking out his deck he shoved it into his duel disk.

"Good luck." Chao threw in as he and Kooru back up to give the Zombie a bit of room. Walking forward, Gurabe held up his duel disk and place his fingers on the top card.

"Let's get this over with." He said, snapping out a chunk of cards.

"…Agreed…" The Mighty Guard called back, also snapping the top five cards from his deck.

Gurabe-4000 LP  
Mighty Guard-4000 LP

"I might as well get this thing rolling." Gurabe called out, snapping the top card off of his deck. "I draw, and," looking down at the cards he held in his hand, he smirked and slapped the drawn card onto his duel disk, "summon Pyramid Turtle (1200/1400) in attack mode!"

A tan skinned behemoth turtle materialized in front of Gurabe with a flash of light. The beast had a large, golden colored pyramid for a shell, resting on its back. Upon its head was an Egyptian style headpiece.

"I'll also place this on my field." Gurabe called out, sliding a card from his hand into his duel disk. "Ending my turn."

"…Draw…" The Mighty Guard boomed out, yanking the sixth card off of his own deck and adding it to his hand. To Gurabe, it looked as if the monster was calculating what would be the best course of action. "…Summon: Ancient Gear Solder…" It cried out, yanking the card instantly from his hand and throwing it onto his own duel disk.

From the dirt ground in front of the Mighty Guard, a large metallic monster came blasting out, landing on the ground once again. The grey metal man stood up, letting a loud creaking noise scream out from its rusted joints as it moved.

A Gatling gun replaced the monsters right hand, raising it and taking aim at the little turtle monster. The gear on its shoulder, and that was acting as the monsters face began to slowly turn, loudly creaking. (1300/1300)

"…Effect: No traps can be activated by you during a battle with this monster attacking…" Mighty Guard announced, throwing his arm forward. "…Ancient Gear Soldier attacks Pyramid Turtle…"

Bracing itself, the antique soldier started to fire off rounds from the Gatling gun, sending a roaring thunder through the tiny valley. The bright bullets pierced into the body and shell of the turtle monster. Roaring out in pain, the monster exploded into a million tiny data fragments.

Gurabe-3900 LP  
Mighty Guard-4000 LP

"You trigger the effect of my Pyramid Turtle!" Gurabe called out, snapping his deck out of his duel disk and fanning it open. "I get to summon one zombie monster with 2000 or less defense now to the field. I of course choose my Vampire Lord (2000/1500)!"

From the smoke the turtle had left from its destruction, a purple robed vampire monster came rushing out, cackling horribly as it appeared on the field. Whipping its cape back, the green haired vampire revealed its skinny body, dressed nicely in its own demonic tuxedo.

"…I set one card on my field face-down…" The Mighty Guard called out, sliding a card into his duel disk face-down. Taking another card he slid it into the slot next to the card he juts placed. "…I activate Ancient Gear Drill. Cost: Discarding one card from my hand…" As the monster spoke he slid one of the remaining cards in his hand into an open slot on the duel disk that must have been serving as his graveyard. "…Effect: Select one magic card from my deck and place it on my field…"

Pulling out its deck, the green armored monster quickly found a card and slid it into a slot on his gear-like duel disk. Materializing next to the already set card on his side of the field, the Ancient Gear Soldier began to creak again, resting the gun at its side as its work for the turn was done.

"…I end…" The monster called as he slid the shuffled deck back into its duel disk.

"Fun." Gurabe called out, grabbing a hold of the top card of his own deck and snapping it off. "Draw!" Quickly adding it to his hand when he verified the contents, he snapped his arm forward. "Vampire Lord go! Destroy Ancient Gear Soldier now!"

Cackling, the monster took off flying towards the rusted monster, smirking the whole time as he flew at full speed.

"…Warning! Trap card activating…" The first set card on the Mighty Guard's field flipped up, sending out a blast of pulse waves instantly as it clicked into its upright position. "…Zero Gravity shifts all face-up monsters to the opposite battle position…"

Cursing under his breath, Gurabe watched as the vampire monster on his own field and the metallic soldier on his opponent's bent down to their knees, their respective card holograms materializing underneath them.

"Fine, I summon Zombie Demon Vampiris (1000/1700) in defense mode and end my turn." Gurabe slapped the card onto his duel disk horizontally, causing the hologram to materialize next to the Vampire Lord. From the card, a large, red, rough skinned demon monster appeared. Its pale white face glared at the opponent as it crashed its two claw like hands together. Crossing them, it made a barricade for itself.

"…Draw…" The monster call out, snapping a new card from his deck and placing it in its hand before looking down and examining all the cards there. Looking up, the monster reached out and grabbed the card on his duel disk, moving it vertical once again. "…Shifting Ancient Gear Soldier into attack mode…" As the rusted monster stood up straight, the card that was set on the field behind him also started to flip up, glowing slightly as it did. "…Activate set card: Ancient Gear Tank. This will equip to my Soldier, giving him 600 additional attack points…"

As the Mighty Guard explained his cards effect, a rusted motorcycle like device appeared on the field next to his soldier. Climbing on, a metal flap came down on top of the monster to give it an extra shield. The tank had large gears for wheels and a rusted cannon on the front of its dash. (1900/1300)

"…Ancient Gear Soldier attacks Vampire Lord…" Mighty Guard called out, snapping his arm forward.

Revving the bike up, the monster took off charging at the crouching vampire. Once it was about half way across the field it began to shoot blasts out of the cannon on the front of the bike, crashing into the chest of the vampire, causing him to scream in pain and vanish from the field with a massive explosion.

Swerving, the monster made its way back to its master's field, turning the bike around to face Gurabe once again.

"…I end…"

"Lucky me." Gurabe sarcastically growled as he drew the top card off his deck, flicking it over so he could see its face. Adding it to his hand he slipped another card out and slapped it down onto his duel disk. "I call upon a second Zombie Demon Vampiris (1000/1700), defense mode!"

Appearing next to the first, an identical monster jumped up through the air, landing on its own card image, crouching down onto it knees.

"When two Zombie Demon Vampiris's are on my field outside of a battle phase, I call a third one from anywhere and place it on the field!" Gurabe called out, watching as the third identical monster appeared on the field next to his two brothers. Shuffling his deck, Gurabe latched it back into place in his duel disk.

Taking another card from his hand he slid it into his duel disk, watching as the card image materialized before him.

"I activate the continuous magic card: Card of Safe Return. When a monster is special summoned from my grave, I get to draw one more card from my deck." Jerking his arm forward, Gurabe motioned to the set card on his field, watching as it flipped open. "I activate Call of the Haunted, special summoning Vampire Lord once again from my grave to the field."

As the green haired vampire came bursting back onto the scene, Gurabe took the pleasure in yanking another card off of his deck and adding it to his hand. With a quick motion he yanked his arm across his body when he had let go of the card, yelling out his command.

"Vampire Lord attacks your Ancient Gear Soldier now!"

Launching itself across the field, the vampire monster landed on top of the rusted tank like device, reaching under the shield and grabbing the Ancient Gear Soldir by the 'neck' and throwing him out of the device, onto the rocky ground below where he shattered into a million tiny pieces of metal, all of which evaporating instantly.

Just as the Vampire Lord jumped off of the tank, it too disinagrated into nothingness not being equipped to anything.

Gurabe-3900 LP  
Mighty Guard-3900 LP

"…Ancient Gear Tank's Effect Activates: Damage equal to 600 is dealt to your life points…" The Mighty Guard cried out, holding up the green bordered card before sliding it into the darkness of the slot.

Gurabe-3300 LP  
Mighty Guard-3900 LP

"Well Vampire Lord also has an effect, forcing you to discard one card of my choosing from your deck to the graveyard. I'm going to call monster!" Gurabe yelled out, thrusting his hand forward to the armored man.

Pulling out his deck, the Mighty Guard proceeded to shift through it until he came to a monster card, pulling it out and flipping it over. Confirming it was a monster, Gurabe nodded allowing the Mighty Guard to slide it into his graveyard.

"Odd." Chao spoke quietly, only loud enough for Kooru to be able to hear him.

"What is?" He questioned back, a bit annoyed that they were stalled like this.

"He just discarded Ancient Gear Beast. It's a 2000 attack point monster, but still pretty rare. To be honest, I have seen very few copies in my tournament goings. Very few Ancient Gear decks to be honest."

"Why is that odd?" Kooru asked, looking over at the silver haired man next to him.

"Because, I wonder if monster spirits have to deal with rarities of cards, or all these just magically come to them."

"Good question."

"…Draw…" The Might Guard cried out, interrupting Kooru's and Chao's little side conversation with his mechanical sounding voice. It didn't take long for the monster to slid the newly drawn card into his own duel disk, the hologram materializing next to him. "…Activation: Magic Card: Card of Sanctity. We both draw until we hold six cards in our hands…"

Taking no extra time, the monster slid three extra cards off of his deck, placing them into his hand and fanning them open to see what he had. Growling, Gurabe drew only two cards for the effect of the card, also adding them to his hand.

"…I summon Yellow Gadget in attack mode…" Mighty Guard cried out, placing a new card onto his duel disk. Instantly, a little yellow bodied monster appeared on the field before him. Across its sides and racing down the back of the monster from the top of its head were large, shiny, silver colored gears. (1200/1200) "…When Yellow Gadget is summoned, I get to pull one Green Gadget from my deck and place it into my hand…" Mighty Guard announced, yanking out the deck of cards he held and fanning them open again, grabbing the said card and putting it into his hand before shuffling his deck again.

"What will that do against my monsters?" Gurabe mocked the little yellow machine that rested on the Might Guard's field, pushing its chest forward to make itself look more powerful.

"…Magic card activate: Quick Summon…" Yanking out another card from his hand after he had slid the said magic card into his duel disk, he placed it onto the duel disk before him, picking up the orange borded card already resting there. "…I get another normal summon or set this turn, so I sacrifice Yellow Gadget in order to normal summon; Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Chimera…"

The yellow monster began to flail about on the field, erupting with a massive burst of white light shooting out from the monsters joints. Completely blanketing the monster in light, a new form began to appear on the field from the light. As the illumination died down, a large, hunter green metal monster rested on all fours on the Mighty Guard's field, creaking and clanking as it sat there. It had a dark gray head shaped like a rabid dog on the front of its body, a glowing red eye in the black eye socket. Jutting out of the back of the beast were two more heads, one more the shape of a human, but still made out of gears and metal places, and another yellow metal head that was shaped slightly like a bird. (2300/1300)

"…Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Chimera attacks your Vampire Lord…" Mighty Guard spouted out, thrusting his arm forward towards the green haired vampire.

Clanking and clicking, the monster began to charge forward, sending a massive amount of dirt and rocks skyward as it bounded across the field. Leaping into the air, the monster came falling out of the sky, crushing the vampire under its tons of weight.

Gurabe-3000 LP  
Mighty Guard-3900 LP

"…Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Chimera's Yellow Gadget influenced effect activate. Additional 700 points of damage is dealt to your life points…"

"What?!" Gurabe's eyes widened as he looked down at his duel disk. Sure enough, the white numbers that read 3000 began to slowly count down again, a loud beeping noise rushing through the air as it did.

Gurabe-2300 LP  
Mighty Guard-3900 LP

"Yellow Gadget's influenced effect?" Kooru asked Chao, actually growing curious in the duel as it progressed along. "Any clue what that means?"

"I think so. If I remember right, Gadjiltron Chimera has three special effects that activate only when certain monsters are sacrificed to summon it. Yellow Gadget inflicts 700 more points of damage when it destroys a monster. Green Gadget increases its attack power by 300 points, and Red Gadget inflicts 500 more points of damage if the monster can attack the opponent directly." Chao replied, looking at the hideous miss-mash of machines as it bounded back to the Mighty Guard's field. "It's an interesting monster."

"I'll say." Kooru agreed, watching as the Mighty Guard waved its arm through the air.

"…I end…"

"Draw!" Gurabe growled, snapping the top card off of his deck and adding it to his hand. _"My traps are useless against these Ancient Gear monsters…"_ Gurabe growled, pulling out one of the cards in his hand and sliding it into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down and end my move."

"…I draw…" The monster began, flicking the card over and sliding it into his duel disk. "…Activation: Magic Card: Pot of Greed. With this, I draw two more cards…" With ease, the green armored monster yanked two more cards off of his deck, fanning them open and looking at them. "…Magic card: De-Tribute. This card lets me sacrifice one face-up level 5 or higher monster on my side of the field, special summoning all monsters that were used to tribute summon it…"

Shattering into a million tiny data pieces, the chimera monster left nothing left of its existence except the same yellow monster that had been on the field before, crouching over and protecting itself on its own horizontal card image.

"Why the hell would you do that?" Gurabe questioned, watching as the Mighty Guard slapped down the Yellow Gadget card again, depositing the Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Chimera into his graveyard slot. _"If I'm lucky, this chunk of scrap metal is broken and has no clue what kind of advantage he just gave up."_ Gurabe chuckled to himself.

Without hesitation, the monster pulled out a new card from his hand, sliding it into its duel disk. "…Activate magic card: Ancient Gear Factory. I can remove Ancient Gear Monsters in my graveyard to match twice the star level as one Ancient Gear Monster in my hand, allowing that monster to be summoned without the need for tributes this turn…" The monster spirit continued, holding up his scrap metal duel disk, watching as three cards were ejected. Grabbing them, he held them up for Gurabe to see. "…I remove Ancient Gear Soldier for four stars, Ancient Gear Beast for six stars, and Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Chimera for another six stars. That totals 16 stars, so I may summon a level eight Ancient Gear monster…"

A blast erupted on the Mighty Guard's field, sending a ton of scrap metal racing high into the sky. Gurabe could make out many of the hunks of metal as pieces of the said monsters, chopped up, falling apart, and destroyed. Racing into the sky, the parts all converged into a glowing star, racing back towards earth with incredible speed. Landing, the send out a blast of energy that threatened to knock Gurabe, Kooru and Chao over.

"…Summoning: Ancient Gear Golem…"

"_He was setting himself up to summon a more powerful monster!"_ Gurabe screamed in his head, watching as from the orb of light, a huge, metallic monster began to rise up, overshadowing the whole field. It's human like body was made of large, rusted pieces of metal. As large rusted green gears inside its body began to turn, sending out a loud clanking noise, the monster began to move, looking around the field with its one, glowing red eye. (3000/3000)

"…Magic nor Trap card can be activated during the battle step with this card attacking…" Mighty Guard warned, referring to the set card that Gurabe had on his field. "…Ancient Gear Golem attacks Zombie Demon Vampiris. Effect activating, dealing damage through defense to your life points…"

"Ok, that's getting annoying." Gurabe growled, listening to all the effects this new powerhouse monster came with.

Winding back its arm, the monster stepped forward, thrusting its mechanical fist forward and into the tiny body of the demon monster before it, crushing it instantly with a loud blast ensuing, clouds of smoke rushing up into the air as the monster retracted its arm.

Gurabe-1000 LP  
Mighty Guard-3900 LP

"…I set one card face-down…" The Mighty Guard continued, sliding a new card from its hand into its deck. Just as the set card was materializing on its field, the destroyed demon monster came rushing back into play from Gurabe's graveyard, again, crouching on its horizontal card. "…I end…"

"Don't even care to know what happened I see." Gurabe scoffed, looking at the uncaring opponent. "When two Zombie Demon Vampiris's are on the field outside of a battle phase, a third can come to the field from anywhere. That triggers my Card of Safe Return, letting me draw a new card. Now it's my turn, draw!"

Gurabe casually slid two cards from the top of his deck, fanning them open and staring at their faces before sliding them both into his huge hand, making a total of eight cards.

"I don't think your big monster there is all that scary." Gurabe commented, snapping his arm down towards the set card on his field. "In fact, I think I'm well prepared to deal with such threats. I activate my set Tribute to the Doomed, by discarding this card from my hand," Gurabe held up a card he was holding, sliding it casually into his duel disk's graveyard slot, "I can destroy your Ancient Gear Golem!"

Mummy like bandages came flying out of the upturned magic card's image, ensnaring the large mechanical behemoth, and crushing it so tight together until it came to a boiling point, exploding with a loud, echoing bang. Dirt, debris, and wild embers went cursing through the air all over the small valley.

"I make a double sacrifice!" Gurabe yelled out, picking up the two cards on his duel disk and slapping down a new monster. "I summon the fiendish; Despair from the Dark! (2800/3000)"

Vanishing in a blast of yellow light, the two identical demon monsters merged their life force into a large, towering red and black shadow beast that took on a hideous form, stretching out long, jagged claws on each of its hands.

"Attack his gadget now!" Gurabe ordered, thrusting his arm forward towards the little monster that was crouching over on the Mighty Guard's field. "Eternal Dark Grip!"

"…Trap Card Activation: Feelings of Shelter. When a monster of 1500 attack points or less is attacked, I can negate the attack and end your battle phase. Second effect also activates: I can Special Summon one monster from my hand with 1500 attack or less to my field in defense mode…"

Taking no time at all, the little guardian slapped down a new card onto his duel disk, this one producing a green bodied monster with a body made from a large, gear. Clanking, the monster sat down on its own card. (1400/600)

"…Green Gadget is summoned in defense mode, allowing me to pull Red Gadget from my deck and place it in my hand…"

"Then it's your turn after I set this card." Gurabe growled, watching as his large shadow beast was forced to back off from its original intended target. Appearing on the ground in front of him the image of a card back materialized with a ripple of light.

"…Draw…" The little monster announced, yanking a new card off of its deck and adding it to its own hand. "…I too make a double tribute, sacrificing Green and Yellow Gadget in order to summon: Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon…"

Vanishing in a blast of light, the two gadget monsters were swept up in a cyclone of energy that spiraled up high into the sky above the valley. Shooting back down, the twister opened up its end, shooting out a large mechanical behemoth that came surging towards the field at in incredible speed. Spreading out its massive, metal wings with loud, mechanical groans, the monster slowed its decent, hovering over the Mighty Guard's head.

The monster was huge. It had a massive head shaped like a dragon out of pieces of metal, and of course rusted green gears like its companions. Its long, old tail snapped back and forth, causing the metal to protest with each motion. Roaring out with its appearance, the beast blasted up a cloud of dirt. (3000/2000)

"…Like Gadjiltron Chimera, Gadjiltron Dragon has influenced effects depending on the monsters tributed to summon it. Green Gadget allows it to deal damage through defense, and Yellow Gadget will allow for 600 points of additional damage when it destroys a monster on the field. As well as the fact you can't use Magic or Trap cards during a battle with this monster. This duel is over…"

"No its not!" Gurabe cried out, snapping his hand to his set card. "Open trap: Alter for Tribute, this will allow me to sacrifice my last Zombie Demon Vampiris, gaining life points equal to its attack points!"

As he spoke, the trap flipped up, sucking in the red skinned demon monster like a vacuum picking up dirt. Shattering, the card sent out a rain of light over Gurabe's body, causing his duel disk to begin beeping.

Gurabe-2000 LP  
Mighty Guard-3900 LP

"…Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon attacks Despair from the Dark…" The unaffected Mighty Guard called out, sending his commands to his floating behemoth.

Opening its jaw, the beast began to form a massive ball of rust-brown colored flames, swirling into a vortex before blasting out of the maw of the beast. Racing across the field, it engulfed the huge shadow monster, easily causing the monster to scream in pain before it shattered into a million data bits, floating away from the monsters position on the field.

Gurabe-1200 LP  
Mighty Guard-3900 LP

"…I end…"

"_How in the world am I supposed to beat that thing?"_ Gurabe thought to himself, examining the cards in his own hand. _"I think I do have one way, I just need the right card."_

"Do I really need to remind you how pressed for time we are?" Kooru called out to the Zombie, causing a blood vein to pop out on his forehead.

"I know!" He screamed back, looking over his shoulder. "I've got this under control! Draw!" Looking at the card, he knew what he needed to do. "I activate Pot of Greed, drawing two more cards." His eyes widened as he saw the two cards he had pulled. "Talk about top decking goodness. I'll activate," reaching down to his hand of cards he yanked out another card and slid it into his duel disk, "the ritual magic; Hell's Grave Side!"

Yanking out two cards from his hand, he slid them into his graveyard slot before looking up with a dastardly smirk on his face. One of the two cards he had drawn was slapped down onto his duel disk with great ease.

"I sacrifice two monsters from my hand with four stars each in order to summon: Hell's Grave Digger (3500/3500)!"

The ground before Gurabe began to crack, breaking open like a door as a large, bald man began to poke its head out. Rising slowly out of the ground with a bone chilling groan, the hideous man started to show its massive girth to everyone in the area.

Hoisting a large, jagged wooden handle with a flat, steel shovel at the end, up over its shoulder, the monster completed the attire of a demonic grave digger. Being eye level with the mechanical dragon made them both huge beings on the field.

"It's time to show you my power." Gurabe growled, sliding the other drawn card into his duel disk. "I will finish this in this turn. I activate: The Oracles Rage Incarnate Seal of Power - Amber Crystal!"

"A crystal card…" Chao whispered under his breath, watching as the brilliant golden light raced up around the zombie standing before him.

Blasts of electrical energy came blasting out of the slot on the duel disk where the card was inserted, racing up the gray suit of the zombie, giving his body incredible amounts of energy.

An identical effect was taking place on his large, gray skinned monster, also being engulfed by the flowing aura. From under the beast's skin, large, amber colored crystals began to form, popping out of the skin. Emitting a lush, golden glow, the crystals made the giant monster howl, its power level jumping upwards. (4500/3500)

"My Amber Crystal," Gurabe began to speak, bringing his head down to look at the Mighty Guard, the glowing symbol shining brightly on his forehead, "grants my monster 1000 extra attack points to fight you with. Go! Hell's Grave Digger Amber Mode attack! Destroy his monster!"

Winding back its arm, the large crystallized monster swung the jagged shovel over its shoulder down, slicing right through the giant mechanical dragon with ease. The explosion that ensued was massive, blasting pitch black smoke and red hot embers through the air.

Gurabe-1200 LP  
Mighty Guard-2400 LP

"I activate the second power of my Amber Crystal!" Gurabe cried out, sliding one of the two cards he still head into his graveyard slot. "For each hand card I discard, my monster can attack again! Go!" Screaming at the top of his lungs, his giant monster continued its path forward, stabbing down with the end of the shovel through the smoke and embers.

A blood curdling, yet synthesized scream came racing through the valley from inside the large smoke cloud, indicating that Gurabe's monster had hit the mark.

Gurabe-1200 LP  
Mighty Guard-0 LP

"Well that was a fun waste of time." Gurabe smirked, his body returning to normal as the holograms on the field faded out of existence. Turning around, the zombie straightened out his tuxedo before walking back to the two people behind him.

"Waste of time for sure." Kooru snarled, hiding the fact that he did slightly enjoy watching the duel. He found the power of the crystal cards intriguing, and seeing usage out of them just reminded him more of why Freyr couldn't ever get his hands on the whole crystal.

"…Your…power is…impressive…" A choppy mechanical voice came through the smoke, followed shortly by a scratched up Mighty Guard as he walked towards the three of them. "…I recognize that power you have. Even we monster spirits know of the war that is ensuing again over that power. Please, don't bring that war to us again…"

"Too late for that." Kooru replied, watching as the green armored monster bowed his head in disappointment. "But we wish to stop it before it goes any further. Would you mind?" He asked, hitting the large steel wall with the back of his hand.

A loud creaking noise could be heard, drawing Kooru's, Chao's and Gurabe's eyes upwards to the towering wall that had them locked in. They watched as the entrapment slowly began to tilt, crumbling under its own weight and falling backwards onto the valley below, catching on the awkwardly placed hillside.

"…That's all it took to get out of here…" Kooru face-fell as he looked at the now metal ramp that led up and out of the little valley.

"…Things here aren't as strong as they used to be…" The Mighty Guard chuckled, taking a step backwards from the three visitors.

Gurabe, Chao and Kooru, especially, turned towards the little green armored man, glaring daggers at him.

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Hell Grave Digger  
**3500/3500/8/Dark/Zombie  
This card can only be Ritual Summoned with the Ritual Magic Card, "Hell's Grave Side". You must also Tribute monsters whose total Levels equal 8 or more from the field or your hand. Once per turn you may special summon one Fiend or Zombie-type of monster from your graveyard to the field. If you do, this monster may not attack this turn.

Gurabe: "This is my big hitter monster, used when I need some incredible brute force. Not only that, but he does do well for me to revive my monsters with if I should need it. His brutal 3500 stats are absolutely nothing to laugh at…so you should show respect you pitiful humans."

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	32. Dreams and Curses

Episode 32: Dreams and Curses

"Why is it I can't count on you three for anything?" Freyr bellowed, his voice echoing off of the walls of the small cave, causing it to sound three times as loud as it originally was.

Shuddering in fear, Dementia, Thoth and Tal bowed even lower to the ground in front of their master.

"But...sire." Thoth spoke, not daring to lift his head off of the ground. "We ran into the vessel that contained the three guardians. While is power is meager compared to theirs, he is a very interesting being."

"Interesting?" Freyr turned, walking back to the large collection of shimmering jewels that lay in the back of the room. "It had better be. Explain."

"Yes master." Thoth looked up, noticing that Freyr had his back turned. "He's a Dual Soul. He is mostly demon, but he still has human ties in him. He actually wasn't that skilled, but he does have incredible instincts and reflexes. It only makes sense why he was chosen as the vessel."

"You really are clueless aren't you?" Freyr turned back, causing Thoth to bury his head once again into the earth. "He wasn't demon to begin with. Constant exposure to the demonic aura fused into his own human soul. The members of the Rinku clan were fully human; I know this for a fact."

Walking forward slowly, he stopped inches away from his cowering minions.

"But you did provide me with something useful. Dual Souls can't live very long. The inner war would tear them apart. Especially if he were to actually fight using his demon attributes, it'd only speed up the process and kill him half way through." Lifting up his right hand he looked at the callused, rough skin on his palm. "Meaning he has some kind of stabilizer keeping him in check. You both walked away from the fight."

"Y..yes sire." Thoth replied, a little unsure where this conversation was going.

"Good. Bring him to me. I can make use of his services."

* * *

Sighing loudly, Joe leaned back against the wall by the empty throne that was there. Crossing his arms, his head bowed, his eyes clamping shut. 

"Do we even have a plan to deal with any of this?" He asked to the whole group. Without looking up, he knew that everyone in the room was looking at one another completely lost. No answer came, so he inhaled again, sighing loudly. "Great…were screwed."

"If only we weren't so divided." Akina walked over, collapsing into the throne. Pulling herself back in the long seated chair, she sat straight up against the golden back of the chair. "We have so many injuries, so many other goals going on, and so separated because of it. We still have no clue where Reku is."

"Or Ronin either." Ryokurio threw in from his place across the room, crossing his own arms and staring at the group. "Despite how lost in his way he is. Last thing we knew; him and Reku were together. Isn't it still possible that they are somewhere?"

"The intent of Tal was to drive the wedge between Ronin and the rest of you deeper." Yukio commented from his place sitting on the floor next to the golden door next to Chime.

"You just stay out of this. You are not welcome here." Joe growled, causing Kevin to place his hand on Joe's shoulder to get his friend to calm down.

"You're right." Yukio calmly stated, pushing himself to his feet. "I'm not, nor do I want to be here. At the rate your going, Freyr is going to completely wipe you all out one at a time. I'll sit back and laugh for what may be my last few seconds of life before that demon wipes out every last being in the universe. You are all just as pathetic as I remember."

"Push your luck just a little farther wise-guy." Joe growled, pushing Kevin's hand off of his shoulder and stepping forward. To bolster his toughness he began to crack his knuckles, the popping sound ricocheting off the large golden walls of the room.

"Knock it off humans!" Kiro snapped gaining everyone's attention instantly. He was leaning against the broken, crumbling wall by staring out the wide mouth of the hole that was still there. "You are a bunch of sniveling babies, falling right into that bastards trap. The more you fight with each other, the weaker you will all become. The more divided you mind will become. Without focus of the goal here, Freyr will come in, crush you all, dance on your graves and rule the world with this great, ultimate power."

His gem-like eyes drifted down his body, seeing the deck of cards lying on the ground next to his feet with the strange medallion he had resting on the top of them. He was informed to do this to 'recharge' the cards in his deck after using his crystal card.

Sighing, he pushed himself up, turning around and facing everyone behind him.

"Whatever has happened in the past between any of you needs to be buried for now. Waste you lives away later digging them up and fighting about them. As of now though, you will all grow up and put your little petty fights behind you. I will deal with things physically if you continue." Holding up his metallic black claws, Kiro emphasized his point. "I have the power to slit each of your throats before you blink your eye, so do not argue with me."

"So you waltz in here and think you can just take charge?" Joe turned his anger on the mostly-demon man. "Last I checked, you were in cahoots with that bitch over there." As he said 'bitch' he whipped his arm up, pointing at Chime who was still sitting on the tiled ground next to the standing Yukio.

Before Joe could even react, he felt his entire back began to throb with pain. His vision flashed a mixture of colors before he came back into full vision. His eyes darted downward to where he could see Kiro's claws wrapped around his shirt's shoulders, pushing him back against the wall.

"And last I checked, you're getting a bit big for your britches." Growling through clenched teeth, Kiro seeped fear into Joe's body instantly just from the sound of his voice as well as the killer look in his eyes. "You drop whatever grudge you have with my sister or that other guy now."

"As much as I disagree with his method of delivering it," Ryokurio pushed himself off of the wall, walking across the room to the two of them, "he is right. This is no time for us to be fighting amongst ourselves any more than what is necessary or has already happened."

* * *

The eerie light of the three moons reflected off the calm, tranquil lake surface like a mirror reflecting back a perfect image. Not even the smallest wave, the smallest ripple disturbed the water's surface. 

Curving around the lake was a long, sand covered beach sloping up onto a flat plateau were a dense forward spread out in that direction.

Two figures were walking across the soft, smushy sand, leaving a trail of foot prints in their wake. The two walked in silence, a good distance between their two bodies but still pretty even in their stride.

Sighing, the man on the left ran his fingers through his black hair, looking at the other man who was just walking with his head off towards the lake water.

"Do you have any clue where we are going?"

As the question broke his train of though, the other man snapped his head back to glare at him. "Why the hell would I know. Does it look like I come here often? Use some common sense Reku, think before you speak."

"Take your own advice." The man, Reku, snapped back at the other figure, obviously Ronin now, illuminated in the glow of the moon.

"I do think." Ronin replied, his head shifting back to gaze at the stiff lake water on the other side of him.

"Just not clearly." Reku snarled back under his breath, irritation whisping off of his words and fogging the area between them with hate.

"Clearer than I ever have in the past." Without turning his head, Ronin responded to the comment with his own anger, knowing exactly what Reku said despite how in-audible it was.

"You wanting to start this again?" Reku growled, holding up his left arm with his emerald green duel disk still on it, his deck sitting neatly in the deck slot on it. "You already said you got your answer, why are you so hell-bent on continuing to search."

"Because life is searching. We have to continue to always look for what are lives are. Our meaning. Our destiny."

"You think that you were meant to be a grade A ass hole?"

"So searching for my own power makes me an 'ass hole'," making quotation marks with his fingers as he spoke, Ronin still refused to look at his former friend again, "when will you get it through that thick skull of yours that it was all your fault that I am like this. You. Akina. Everyone."

"No, you are the only one to blame Ronin." Reku stopped, swinging his arm through the air, though it didn't faze Ronin who walked a bit further before stopping, his eyes still locked on the lake. "You made up this whole self pity and drowned your heart in it. Then when Dementia and you dueled, you losing infected you with her dark magic, breaking all will you had, drowning all of your being in this pity."

"So are you calling me pitiful now too?"

"No, you are just hearing and twisting my words to meet your own sick purpose." Reku began to walk again, moving past the still statue like Ronin. His brown eyes locked on a point in the distance where a large mountain sat with many rocks pillared up on top of it. _"From that point I'll be able to see the landscape better. Maybe find my way to Order's castle if we are really in the Dominion of the Beast as I think." _

"Reku." Ronin spoke, sternly, yet not incredibly angry. Stopping the young man, Reku looked back to Ronin to see what he wanted, expecting more fighting words out of the young man. "What do you believe is your destiny as a duelist?"

"As far as I know." Reku began, looking away from Ronin and focusing on the duel disk still on his left arm. The deck inside of it drew all of his attention for a second before reaching up to the medallion the dangled from his neck. "I have to use all the skills I have to protect the crystal's power from falling into the wrong hands."

"Your skills." Ronin looked up, still not fully though so he was looking at Reku from out of the side of his eyes. "You mean your _power_. The same thing you want to punish me for trying to get as well."

"No, it's that you go about it the wrong way."

"Not everyone is like you." Ronin began to walk again, moving up until he was even again with Reku, looking over at Reku while his hair came down in strands over his eyes, giving Ronin a worn and torn look. "What worked for you to gain power didn't help me. I have a different way to get power and I have gotten it. I proved that to you with our duel. And you showed me that I was right."

"You took whatever you want to believe away from that duel." Reku spoke calmly, looking away from his friend and back towards his landmark, the mountain where he was headed to. Obviously Ronin was heading there for the same reason. "You can deny it all you want, but your destiny too was to use your power to protect the crystal. You were a chosen one as well. You, me, Akina, Joe, Kevin, and Gurabe. We are all a team together to stop Freyr from accomplishing whatever the hell he wants to."

"No, I know what fate has in store for me. Everything falls into place." Ronin lifted his head to gaze upon the rock formation as well. Beginning to walk forward towards it, he knew that Reku had also started walking again behind him.

"For you."

"The conversation is over." Ronin growled, shoving his hands into his pocket as he talked. "Why are you still following me? You wanted to talk didn't you, so we talked, now go away."

"You're just as lost in this world as I am." Reku began to jog until he caught up with Ronin. "You know we are both heading towards that mountain."

"But unlike you, I don't need someone to hold my hand no more." Ronin growled again, looking over at Reku. "Fine…do whatever you want. But once we get there and find out what this place looks like, don't be surprised if I go the opposite direction than you."

"Like I care anymore. It's more and more obvious to me that nothing I can say will reason with you."

"Your damn right."

* * *

Dementia walked forward in the dark, damp cave, kneeling down before her tall, brooding master. Looking up, she smiled wickedly as she saw him turn around to acknowledge her. 

"Lord Freyr, please leave me the pleasure to bring you the Dual Soul."

"What bring this on?" Freyr asked, turning back to the large stash of crystals that lay on the floor of the cave before him.

"Because," her hand found its way to her face, feeling around her head she felt the wounds that were inflicted on her when Kiro had grabbed a hold of her. The dried blood creating a seals to the holes that were there. "I have a score to settle with him."

"He is to come here alive, uninjured." Dementia's face started to fall when she heard her master speaking. "I don't have time for you little personal vendetta."

"But Lord Freyr," Dementia's voice was that of a little kid, being told they couldn't have their favorite dessert, "I wouldn't harm him. I want him to suffer though. So much so, I could get him to walk here on his own two feet."

"You think you could get him to come here of his own free will?" Thoth questioned from his place next to Tal leaning against the cold, stone wall of the cave. "That's quite impossible."

"It's not!" Dementia shot back, looking over at her comrade demon, anger boiling in her vampire eyes.

"I know that he'll fight against us, no matter what side he's on. You pick up those kinds of things when you are locked in battle with another opponent." Thoth let his long arms drape to his side, swinging slowly back and forth.

"But actually, even though we don't have much time left," Freyr turned, glaring at Thoth making sure that the Egyptian demon knew not to interrupted. Moving his head, he looked down at the purple skinned vampire before him on the dirty ground. "I will let you go. You make him walk here on his own will, and you will be rewarded for sure."

"Thank you Lord Freyr." Dementia bowed again before rising to her feet and turning around, smirking at the two men along the wall before she went flying out down the long corridor to the end of the cave.

* * *

Easing the door open, the spiky, green haired half-demon stuck his head into a small bamboo lined room. Looking up from the two demon bodies that still lay on the ground unconscious, Order, Sachiko and Kaira looked at Kiro peaking in. 

"How are they doing?" He asked, keeping his voice down slightly so not to disturb them.

"Better." Order smiled, looking back at the two of them, the rhythmic rising and falling of their chests as they breathed normally. "They have woken up off and on, just resting now to regain their strength."

"Lucky for them, their bodies recover at such a rapid rate." Sachiko threw in, standing up along with the other two women.

"Yes." Kiro opened the door fully, feeling his own body with his mind and knowing exactly what they were talking about. "It is one of the perks one gets to being a demon instead of merely human." Looking over the bodies for a second, Kiro's gem like eyes rested upon the blond haired girl standing the furthest from the door. "Kaira, mind if we talk for a moment?" Looking at the other two females, he quickly threw in: "alone."

"Sure." She smiled at him, looking at the other two women before jogging over to the door where Kiro stood, walking out of it with him and closing the door behind them.

Walking through the castle swiftly, the two of them found themselves at the front door of the palace, opening to large, golden, double doors and walking out into the tranquil garden that lined all the way around the front of the castle.

Looking up, the glowing three moons casted their light down upon the two of them.

Everything was clam, everything was quite, and everything was peaceful.

"Whatever we've walked into is incredibly dangerous." Kiro began, pulling his head back down and looking over at the blond haired girl that was standing next to him. "This could come to matters of life and death. I'm not so sure that you and Chao should be here."

"You want us to go back to the other realm?" Kaira questioned, a bit shocked at the sudden concern of Kiro. "We aren't going to abandon you. Besides, Chao is already out with Kooru in this strange world," as she spoke she motioned to the rolling hills of grass that lay out before the two of them and the golden castle. "So its not like he can really leave right now anyways."

"I know." Kiro growled, but quelling his temper before it got out of hand, he took a deep breath and looked back up at the two moons. "We've walked into something that is incredibly dangerous. More so than the ten trials I was put through. I fear for your safety."

"You…fear for my safety?" Kaira started blushing slightly, adverting her eyes from the demonic man next to her. Clearing her throat, she began to speak again, keeping her eyes locked a lovely multicolored flower that was by her feet. "We didn't abandon you during your trials, and we won't abandon you now. We are a team, remember?"

"But during the trials they were only gunning for me." Kiro's voice was becoming stern, stiff and a bit rougher than his normal speech pattern. "Here they refuse to take mercy on anyone, friend or foe it would seem. I don't want you to be in harms way."

His cold hand was then placed on her shoulder, slowly turning her to face him directly. His eyes narrowed slightly sending shivers down her spine just from looking at him.

"You've never listened to a word I've said in the past. Do it now. Its do or die here."

"It wouldn't feel right if I were back at home, sitting around wondering if you'd ever come back!" Kaira protested, swiping her arms through the air to emphasize her point, making Kiro let go of his gentle grip he had on her shoulder. "It killed me when we didn't know where you went with that strange cloaked figure. You just vanished!"

"I know, but that was something that I had to do." Kiro argued the point, watching as Kaira naturally stepped back with the roughness of his voice.

"But…"

"You should really listen to your little boyfriend, darling." A twisted voice came into their worlds, causing both of them to jerk their head to look down at the end of the garden. Standing at the edge of the stone walkway, the purple skinned vampiress smirked, bearing a few of her pearly white fangs from up under her lip.

"Dementia…" Kiro growled, pushing Kaira behind him with his right hand to protect her. "What the hell are you doing here? What do you want?"

"I right now just want my revenge on you." Dementia began walking forward, making Kiro growl like an angry dog. "But my master wants you in one piece. He wishes to talk to you. That is all. I've come to get you and escort you there."

"And if I refuse?" Kiro spoke through clenched teeth, both of anger towards the vampire and anger towards himself. _"I was so distracted with Kaira that I didn't even sense her coming."_

"You can't."

* * *

Pulling himself out of the slightly dense forest, Reku looked up at the tall rock formation that towered up towards the dark sky above. After a long walk, he had finally made it. Him and Ronin who was ahead of him, already walking towards the edge of the mountain to begin his ascent up it, not caring that he left his ex-best friend behind. 

"This world is amazing." Reku thought aloud to himself, gazing out at the now massive amount of tiny hills that bubbled up from the grassy fields that were before him.

Turning, he began his walk towards the towering rock formation. From there he could clearly see everything around him and thus know which way to travel. Looking ahead he could see Ronin standing at the curve of the mountain, looking around to a side the Reku couldn't see yet. Deep inside, he felt very saddened that his childhood friend had turned on him and was treating him like he was.

As he came closer to Ronin he could finally see what he was looking at. Around the side of the rock formation was a large, gray stone opening to a dark cave. There was something about it that sent shivers down Reku's spine. Like an aura of evil blanketing the already thick air.

"This is perfect." Ronin sarcastically spoke before walking past Reku, leaving him behind once again as he made his way towards the cave. It was obvious to Reku that even Ronin felt uneasy in the area around the cave.

Slowly following, the two of them made their way to the entrance of the cave, walking around so they could see inside. What they saw is almost what they expected.

The cave was short, short enough that they could see right to the end which was good to identify all of the caverns contents. The red skinned, very angry Freyr, turned, glaring at them with all of his evil eyes. Thoth and Tal were standing by the wall, also glaring at the two humans who happened to stumble their way to their base.

"What an unpleasant surprise." Freyr looked at Thoth who nodded in agreement, moving quickly towards Ronin and Reku who could do nothing more than brace themselves against the charging demon.

Snagging Reku around the neck with his hand, Thoth went flying back with the black haired human only managing to hit Ronin in the chest with his shoulder as he went past. Rolling on the soft grass, Ronin managed to pick himself up fairly quickly, despite the air getting knocked out of him.

Rushing back up to the cave entrance, looking back to where Reku and Thoth went flying for only a moment, seeing the two had dipped down off one of the many hills in the area, obscuring them from view. Turning back, he saw Freyr grinning a wicking smile at Ronin, Tal just crossing his arms and leaning back against the cold stone wall.

"So this is where you've been hiding huh?" Ronin looking around the little hole in the wall, mocking Freyr by acting like he was inspecting the place. Nodding, he scratched his chin with his thumb and index finger. "Yup, scum deserves a rat's hole to rot in."

"You're the one to talk about scum huh?" Freyr stepped forward, not even flinching at the burn pain running through his body from his, still, open wounds. "Betraying your friends, turning on them. Seeking power to destroy them. As far as human standards go, I'd assume that'd put you far below scum."

"Or maybe I'm superior to them because I traded what was holding me back for power. Wouldn't that be incredibly high in your demon ranks of things to do?" Ronin countered, holding up his emerald green duel disk. With a flick of his wrist the duel disk activated, snapping out the arms of the device and locking them into place. "I can use this power to destroy you. Shall we play?"

"Play the ancient game?" Freyr chuckled, looking over at Tal who chuckled, not daring to disrespect his master by not laughing. Looking back, Freyr waved his arm through the air, sending a blast of wind out of the cave, whipping at Ronin's clothing. "Just whose side are you on, human?"

"I'm on my own side. Neither those losers, nor you losers. I am on my own team, following my own dream."

"Your own dream?" Freyr brought his arm back, squeezing close his fingers into a tight balled fist. "Dream and curses are the same thing. Both infecting the mind, the heart…the soul." Opening his hand a bright ball of pure white energy had formed, growing bigger as Freyr spoke. "Those who cannot accomplish their dreams in their pitiful span of life are doomed to be cursed for all eternity."

"So you're going to give me a lecture about my own choice?" Ronin was calmly shuffling his deck as he asked, watching the bright ball of light in Freyr's hand grow bigger and brighter each minute.

"Why would I care?" Asking while he moved his hand to the side, dropping the orb of light into the air next to him. Surprisingly, the orb stayed floating, hovering inches from his side, bus slowly sliding back so it was slightly behind him. "I just speak upon what I know from experience. Even if you think you are working towards a dream, you may have already failed, and thus are cursed."

* * *

Reku was rolling down the soft grass hill, coming to a complete stop at the flat bottom. Wrapping his hands around his neck, he felt the burning from where Thoth had grabbed him. Lucky though his skin still felt intact, not even having broken hide where his enemy's claws had grabbed him. 

Eyes darting up, Reku watched Thoth slowly, by human standards, walking down the slop towards him. His eyes narrowed, his jaw locked into a frown as he watched the human before him stumbling to his feet.

"So how did filth like you find the cave?" He questioned, finally making it to flat land. "I doubt you had any clue where to look, so you must have done this all by accident."

"Accident." Reku spitting out, having lost his wind in the fall. Coughing a bit, he watched Thoth stop a good distance away from him.

"Just like all humans. To stupid to know how to do anything right on their own. Always lucking into things." Holding up his left arm, Thoth revealed a long metal strip around. Opening up on the side, the wrist band shot out a chunk of metal, smooth and gleaming in the twisted moonlight. The metal began to shake, ripple as if it were water, taking on a new shape as it folded itself out into a duel plate, forming Thoth's duel disk. "It's obvious you're not meant to be a fighter. Lucky for you I'm skilled in both fighting wars, and fighting in the ancient game."

"You want to duel me?" Reku coughed out, still a bit raspy. Holding up his left arm, the emerald green duel disk began to hum, activating and snapping out the arms of the device to form the duel tray.

"And when I win," Thoth revealed a stack of cards in his right hand so suddenly that Reku didn't even see where he had pulled them from. Intently he watched as Thoth slid them into the slot on his odd duel disk. "I take everything you have."

"I don't have much." Reku clicked the strap on his deck case hanging at his waist. Pulling out the stack of cards he began to shuffle them a few times before placing them into hid duel disk.

"You have part of the crystal. You have a deck of cards." Smirking so sinisterly, chills went racing down Reku's spin making him shudder. "You have your life."

* * *

Clicking the deck into his duel disk, Ronin looked up at the demonic monster and the floating orb of light that was hovering off to the side of him. Not sure what the thing was, but he assumed it was going to be assisting Freyr in the game. 

"Hey, if I win," Ronin lifted his arm, pointing towards the large collection of the main crystal laying on the cave floor behind Freyr, "all that becomes mine and you let me walk away from here with it all."

"Very well." Freyr smirked darkly, returning the pointing finger at Ronin. "And if I win, your chunk and crystal card become mine."

"That all you want?" Ronin chuckled, pulling the golden medallion out from under his shirt, letting it fall to his chest on the open side of his shirt, revealed for all to see. "Then it's agreed." Yanking the top five cards off of his deck, Ronin fanned them open to see their faces. "Let's duel."

"Very well." Freyr swung his left arm across his body, holding it in front of the glowing orb on his right side. As he pulled back, he pulled five orbs of light with him that floated in the air, strung out before him. Slowly, the orbs began to manifest, taking into a more rectangular shape, forming cards. With one quick motion of his left hand back, he swiped up all five cards and held them in his massive red hand like a duelist.

Ronin-4000 LP  
Freyr-4000 LP

"How do I know your not cheating with that thing?" Ronin asked suspiciously, placing his fingers on the top card of his deck.

Shrugging, Freyr continued his hateful smile as he looked upon his opponent. "There is no way I can prove it to you. Just once per turn it manifests one 'power' I own into something new and places it into my hand. Its just soul energy, and it is completely random. It's just as I am assuming you didn't stack your deck." Holding up his left hand of five cards he emphasized his point as he continued speaking. "I even took the liberty to change them into your modern day cards to play with. That should make you feel better, yes?"

"Not like it matters much to me. I'll start first. Draw!" Yanking the top card off of his deck, Ronin wasted no time in scanning it over and slapping it face-up on his duel disk. "I'll start by summoning Crystal Ice Shield (0/1800) in defense mode!"

Materializing before him, the orange colored card came into existence, not but seconds later becoming bathed in soothing white light as it produced the actual monster. What came out though was an odd, snowflake shaped chunk of ice, glinting in the faint moon light as it rose up from the card.

"So your still making use of the cards I personally handed to you I see." Tal smirked, watching as Ronin glared at him from out of the corners of his eyes. "I felt you could use a bit of hardening like ice to your new deck, so you would be so easily parted like water."

"While it is true you gave me these cards." Ronin spoke as he yanked up a new card from his hand, sliding it into his duel disk. "It is me that brings out their true power. I cover one card on my field and end my turn."

"Really, that monster?" Freyr spoke, moving his right hand over the orb that was hovering next to him. With a blast of energy, the ball of light shot out a comet of energy, traveling through the air and landing with the rest of his cards, taking the proper form.

Taking one of the cards, Freyr flipped it around for Ronin to see before he thrust it up into the air. Spinning as it went, the card began to transform back into its sphere of light, shining brightly over Freyr's head.

"I think I'll start with a simple monster. Wondering Restless Souls (1500/0), attack mode!"

The ball of light blasted outwards with a might gale force wind, but all that came out of the eruption of energy were two, transparent blobs that began circling Freyr's side of the cave, coming down and circling his body.

"I'll end with that." Freyr lowered his arms to his side, watching as Ronin happily reached for his own deck of cards again.

"I'm not scared of your little ghosts. In fact, I'll take them out right now. Draw!" As he drew his next card, he began pondering what exactly he was going to do.

Taking one of the cards from his hand he quickly slid it onto his duel disk, yanking his arm back dramatically as the card materialized before him.

"Rise up: Frost Dragon (1600/1200)!" Blasting up from the card image came a massive cloud of ice cold air. Fogging up the small cave instantly, the fog gave the eerie feeling that seemed to come with all of Ronin's duels.

As the eerie cold mist began to fall back to the cave floor, a long, ice carved serpent dragon became visible whipping its way around Ronin's side of the field, just barely inside the cave. Its four short, thin arms with the razor sharp claws at the end, became planted on the ground as the beast landed, hissing rather loudly.

Taking his drawn card he slid it into his graveyard slot before thrusting his arm forward to the two hovering spirits that were moving slowly around Freyr's body.

"By sending one card from my hand to the graveyard I can use Frost Dragon to lower the attack of one of your monsters by 500 points!" With the effect announced, the ice serpent began to roar loudly, spurting out a blast of artic wind that engulfed Freyr and his two souls. Ice began to visibly form on them, showing that the effect was taking place (1000/0). "Frost Dragon attack! Destroy his Wondering Restless Souls!"

Again, with is mouth stretched as wide open as it would go, the dragon sent out a wave of artic energy, this time turning into what appeared to be frozen fire as it traveled across the field. Pulling together, the two souls tried to fend off the attack but were unsuccessful in doing so, causing them both to both simply vanish from the field in a blast of light.

Ronin-4000 LP  
Freyr-3400 LP

"Here was the catch." Freyr waved his arm across the glowing orb next to him, closing his eyes as if he was concentrating hard. "When Wondering Restless Souls goes to the grave I add up to two monsters from my deck to my hand. They have to be dark monsters though, and have an attack strength of 2000 or less."

Blasting out two more rays of light, the orb produced the two cards, placing them in Freyr's right hand. He flipped them over so that Ronin could see that indeed, they were two dark attribute monsters. He didn't recognize either of them though.

As the cards were placed in his hand, Freyr chuckled at the seven cards he held, obviously having something good waiting in the wings.

"Take your turn." Ronin growled, watching as another beam of light came blasting out of the orb and landing in Freyr's hand as his eighth card.

"I'll start this turn with one of the cards I placed from my own collection into my hand." Freyr announced as he casually reached for one of the cards, pulling it out and thrusting it out into the air. Like the last card, this one became engulfed in pure light, blasting outwards as it began to take form into whatever monster it was going to be. "I choose Fatal Eye! Defensive mode."

The blasts of light turned into racing streams, colliding at a point just behind Freyr. When the last of the energy was in place, what appeared to be a oval shape pupil appeared floating in mid air. Around it a larger black circle formed, then a more football shaped black oval around that. The demonic eye began to crack though, black, jagged lines spreading out from the pupil across the whole surface of the eye. Glowing bright blue, the center pupil began frantically looking back and forth, taking in all of the sights. (500/500)

"You will fear what you cannot comprehend human." Freyr spoke, chuckling a bit. Even as tough as Ronin was, or was pretending to be at the time, he felt shivers racing down his spine as he looked at Freyr with the in-human eye floating behind him.

"_I've got a bad feeling about this…"_

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Wondering Restless Souls**  
1500/0/3/Dark/Zombie  
When this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard as a result of battle you may add up to 2 DARK monsters from your deck to you hand with 2000 or less ATK.

Tal: "Today we get an interesting card to look at. The first card used by Lord Freyr may not be very much in terms of attack and defense, but it sure has the power to give you a massive boost in resources. Think of all the cards this thing can grab from your deck and put into your hand. A good treat for whoever runs this card. I have a feeling though that Freyr has even more powerful cards waiting in the wings; he's just barely shown the tip of the iceberg."

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	33. Salt in the Wound

Episode 33: Salt in the Wound

Taking another step forward, Dementia was met with another loud, sinister growl from deep in Kiro's throat. She watched as he cautiously pushed Kaira back towards the castle door to keep her safe.

Smirking, Dementia licked her lips with her long, pointed tongue, chuckling slightly at the sight before her.

"Darling, I didn't come here to fight so you can drop the tough guy act." Dementia rubbed the side of her face where Kiro's claws had punctured her skin. "You've already proven to me and Thoth just how powerful you are, Dual Soul."

"Dual Soul?" Kaira spoke in a surprised tone, put off guard by the odd name.

"All the more reason to keep my guard up." Snarling, Kiro cracked his knuckles to show of his strength. "You said you'd love to get revenge on me. I lower my guard, and you'll take the time to strike me dead. I'm not stupid."

"No, darling, you're not." Dementia turned, taking a step back towards the end of the walkway. Stopping mid-step she looked back out of the corner of her eye, seeing Kiro still standing by the castle door. "Yet you refuse to take the free chance to attack and most likely eliminate an enemy. What kind of demon are you? Have you no spine?"

Feeling a bit stupid for not moving before Dementia pointed out what, on instinct, he knew he should have done. He brushed it off, not letting it show. "What do you really want Dementia."

"I told you. Come with me. Lord Freyr wishes to talk to you." Her feet lifted off of the ground as she rose into the air, the black cape that was hanging from her back flapped slightly as she moved, turning around to face the two of them. "And I am never going to disobey Lord Freyr. I didn't come here to fight you, I came to escort you and that is all. I vowed I wouldn't lay a finger on you, now, come with me please, Dual Soul."

"The name is Kiro." Dropping down to his sides, his arms was still tight, being prepared to be snapped back up if anything suspicious were to happen.

"Kiro! Don't go with her!" Kaira screamed at Kiro, watching as he shook his head.

"No, its ok." Kiro looked back at her for a second, giving her a confirming look through his gem-like eyes. "I'll be fine."

Walking down the pathway, Kiro made it to where Dementia was floating high over head, looking down at him with a demented look on her face. Scowling at her, he turned and looked out at the rolling hills before the castle.

"Good, shall we go, darling." Dementia began to hover backwards, causing Kiro to begin walking out into the grassy fields. The move had put Dementia out of his line of sight for a split second. He could feel a slight breeze blowing from behind him.

It hit him. It hit him hard. Like a ton of bricks. He just got through saying he wasn't stupid and he made the most stupid move he could possibly have done in that situation. Snapping his head back around he caught with his eyes Dementia racing towards Kaira at full speed, snatching her up off of the ground and pulling her high into the air. He knew that he couldn't make it to them in time to catch her.

"KAIRA!" He screamed, looking up at Dementia who had the woman in her grasps, not letting her struggle much. "YOU PUT HER DOWN, BITCH!"

"Name calling isn't very nice." Dementia hollered down from her position against the spotted heavens above. Turning her head, she looked at the now ragged, blond haired girl in her grips. "I told Freyr I wouldn't lay a hand on him. But I also have a vow of my own to keep; making him suffer." Licking her lips she opened her mouth again, covering Kaira's face with a vile stench. "You, darling, are his weak spot I see. He's pathetic as a demon if he couldn't even feel me coming and talk to you at the same time."

"Let me go, please." Kaira begged. Dementia had her right arm hooked around her throat so it made it hard for Kaira to form words.

"Oh, sorry darling, but it is something that must be done." Rolling her eyes back up into her head, she smirked before becoming normal again, looking at her. "You know, though, you are right. I will let you go." Looking down, Kaira saw just how far it was to the ground. "But I won't kill you."

"_That's a relief!"_ Kaira's mind was racing. She couldn't believe what was happening to her. Seconds before she was on solid ground, now her feet swung freely in the air, her life in the hands of this odd creature.

Her eyes darted over to the wall of the castle. She could see the large hole in the wall that lead into the main room that they all had been in. It was kind of hard to believe that it was on the very top story of the building.

Looking in she could se all of the faces looking out. Joe, Kevin, Akina, Sachiko, Ryokurio, Usami, Chime, Yukio and even Order. All of them completely shocked to see what was going on just outside the giant gaping mouth.

"No, instead I'll let him catch you." Moving, Dementia grabbed a hold of Kaira by her arms, pinning them to her side. Holding her out away from her body, Dementia began to smile at the victim she had in her clutches. "But first." Smooth and swiftly, Dementia leaned forward and sunk her fangs into Kaira's neck, causing her to scream out in uncontrollable pain.

Her eyes bulging wide, they almost appeared to flash golden for a second before the pain subsided, and her body gave out on her, causing her to loose all consciousness.

Withdrawing her fangs, Dementia licked the two wounds on Kaira's neck, taking up the small beads of blood that had bubbled out of the holes. Looking down, she hovered forward until she was right over Kiro, letting go of her grip and letting the dead-weight body begin its decent down through the air. "Catch this, lover boy."

"KAIRA!" Kiro screamed, aligning himself perfectly and catching the damsel out of the air, kneeling to the ground instantly and letting her body rest on the cool grass beneath him. Hugging her tight, he was slightly relieved that she was no longer in Dementia's grasps. Looking up, he glared daggers at Dementia as she began laughing with pride.

"I told you I'd make you suffer. I'm sure you are, like you said darling, very smart. Tell me what you believe happens when a human is bitten by a top ranked vampire."

"She's going to become…a vampire?" Kiro's head jerked down to the still body in his grasp, her chest rising and falling with her stable, rhythmic breathing. Looking back up he watched Dementia slowly flying circle in the air as she laughed.

"Indeed she will darling. Guess what, there is ways to stop and reverse it." Dementia became still in the air, pointing towards the rolling hills out beyond where they were standing. "Follow me."

"Don't I have to kill you to stop it?" Kiro bellowed up at her, getting her to chuckling again.

"You couldn't kill me if you tried darling. But yes. That would be how the whole deal works." Taking off, she began flying off into the fields. "Come, Lord Freyr and you have a date to keep, remember?"

"Dammit." Kiro looked down at the body, her breathing becoming faster, a bit more frantic. Beads of sweat were appearing on her forehead and, with his super hearing; he could tell her heart was starting to beat faster.

Looking up at the castle he saw the entire group standing in the hole in the wall.

"I have to follow her!" He shouted out, anger coursing through each letter of his words as he formed them. "Take care of Kaira!" As the words were leaving his mouth, Kiro had laid Kaira on the grass and had taken off faster than the human eye could register, taking off after his enemy. _"I'm going to kill that bitch. Kill her!"_

* * *

"Take your turn." Ronin growled, watching as another beam of light came blasting out of the orb and landing in Freyr's hand as his eighth card. 

"I'll start this turn with one of the cards I placed from my own collection into my hand." Freyr announced as he casually reached for one of the cards, pulling it out and thrusting it out into the air. Like the last card, this one became engulfed in pure light, blasting outwards as it began to take form into whatever monster it was going to be. "I choose Fatal Eye! Defensive mode."

The blasts of light turned into racing streams, colliding at a point just behind Freyr. When the last of the energy was in place, what appeared to be a oval shape pupil appeared floating in mid air. Around it a larger black circle formed, then a more football shaped black oval around that. The demonic eye began to crack though, black, jagged lines spreading out from the pupil across the whole surface of the eye. Glowing bright blue, the center pupil began frantically looking back and forth, taking in all of the sights. (500/500)

"You will fear what you cannot comprehend human." Freyr spoke, chuckling a bit. Even as tough as Ronin was, or was pretending to be at the time, he felt shivers racing down his spine as he looked at Freyr with the in-human eye floating behind him.

"_I've got a bad feeling about this…"_

"You think I'm done yet?" Freyr chuckled, reading the look on Ronin's face down to a T. Yanking out a new card from his hand, Freyr preceded to toss it into the air, causing it to take on its pure energy form, racing high above and showering his field with a rain of lights. "I use the magical power of Quick Summon, allowing me to play a new monster on the field. I shall choose," reaching down to his hand again, Freyr yanked a new card out and tossed it into the air, "rise to existence; Abandonment of Hope!"

This card blasted out into massive streams of energy, all racing frantically around the cave before landing before him with another explosion of energy. Wind went whipping through the air as the light took on a more solid form, rising up to a standing figure.

Tall, grey skinned, the monster had only three colors to its attire; gray, black and two beady, blood red eyes. It head was circular, with a long, curved blade racing off of the back of it. Its body looked to be in armor, with a rusted, ridged design carved into what looked like the chest plate. Suddenly the breast plate was hit by a long, flat gray sword that the beast held in its right hand, that now fell to its side, the tip digging itself into the dirt on the floor. (1900/1400)

"Abandonment of Hope attack! Take out Frost Dragon!" Freyr demanded with a swift thrust of his arm forward. Taking the command instantly the gray beast lifted its sword high into the air before slamming it into the earth below sending a bright yellow and demonic black swirled mass of energy racing off of the tip of the sword just inches above the dirt floor.

Crashing into the beast, a loud roaring sound could be heard racing through the small cave walls. The energy bounced off its target, flying every which way as Ronin stood there, braced so that the incredible rush of energy didn't flatten him.

Ronin-3700 LP  
Freyr-3400 LP

The blast faded, leaving a shocking sight in its wake. The Frost Dragon was still living, and hovering before it was Ronin's other monster, the Crystal Ice Shield. Long, deep cracks raced all across the face of the shield, cracking even more by the second.

"I use the effect of my Crystal Ice Shield." Ronin began as he held up the said card off of his duel disk. "First, while there are other monsters on my field it cannot be an attack target. But secondly, I can destroy it in the place of any water monster on my field that would be destroyed. Of course, the battle damage is applied normally, but I get to keep my Frost Dragon now."

"Well, that's human luck-sacking for you." Freyr grinned, almost pleased to know that he wouldn't just walk over this one. If he was going to play the ancient game he wanted to have fun tormenting his opponent. He was confident he was going to win. "I'll just lay a magical essence or a deadly trap on my field to finish my turn." Thrusting a card forward he made it into its massive amount of white energy.

Oddly though, this ball of light didn't change into anything else, it just landed on the ground as a pool of white energy. It was glowing brightly, and the ridged sides seemed to be moving around to ball of light.

* * *

"You want to duel me?" Reku coughed out, still a bit raspy from his fall down the hillside after being tackled by the monstrous demon. Holding up his left arm, the emerald green duel disk began to hum, activating and snapping out the arms of the device to form the duel tray. 

"And when I win," Thoth revealed a stack of cards in his right hand so suddenly that Reku didn't even see where he had pulled them from. Intently he watched as Thoth slid them into the slot on his odd duel disk. "I take everything you have."

"I don't have much." Reku clicked the strap on his deck case hanging at his waist. Pulling out the stack of cards he began to shuffle them a few times before placing them into hid duel disk.

"You have part of the crystal. You have a deck of cards." Smirking so sinisterly, chills went racing down Reku's spin making him shudder. "You have your life."

"You'd actually kill me if I lost." Reku slid his deck into the opening on his duel disk as he asked the question. "Guess I wouldn't expect any less from you guys." Yanking the top five cards off of his deck he fanned them open to see what he had to work with.

"The more you expect, the more disappointed you will be." Thoth enforced what Reku was saying with his words, also sliding his own deck into the odd duel disk on his arm and pulling off his starting clump of cards. "Let's get this under way so that it can get over with just that much faster."

"Duel!" They both cried out into the night sky that rested peacefully above them.

Reku-4000 LP  
Thoth-4000 LP

"Because I can, I'm starting us off." Thoth announced, yanking a sixth card from his deck and thrusting it forward after his eyes and examined its face. "I summon Mirror Sphinx in defense mode (200/200), ending my turn."

Upon the long grass materialized the orange boarded card, spitting out the little statue of a kitten like sphinx monster. Its body was made completely of glass, all shining brightly in the light of the moons.

"Draw!" Reku yelled out, taking his turn by yanking his own sixth card from his deck and adding it to his hand. Looking over his selection he decided on the best choice, pulling it out and thrusting it forward. "I summon to my field Reflect Bounder (1700/1000), attack mode!"

Reku's monster was much bigger, an android shaped machined decorated with large, shining mirrors also refracting all sources of light in the area. The large mirror in the center of its chest reflected its opponent, the little mirror like cat. A low rumbling noise came from what appeared to be the orange colored head of the monster.

"Attack Mirror Sphinx!" Reku cried out, sending his monster into battle.

Crossing its arms, the beast formed up a massive amount of energy in its center mirror, thrusting its chest forward to release all of it in one massive cannon fire of power. Racing across the field, the mirror cat was instantly sucked up by the light, shattering into a million data bits.

Reku-2300 LP  
Thoth-4000 LP

"My Mirror Sphinx takes the attack points of the monster that kills it out of your life points." Thoth smirked, holding up the little monster card before hiding it in his graveyard slot. "So you just took yourself down 1700 life points. Good work there human."

"_Deadly little thing."_ Reku plucked a new card from his hand, looking at it thoughtfully for a second. _"This should help me some."_ He thought as he slid it into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

* * *

"Draw!" Drawing a card from his deck, Ronin laughed a bit as he threw it into his duel disk, the magic card forming before him. "I activate my Pot of Greed, drawing 2 more cards." 

With two more cards yanked off his deck, Ronin smirked and deposited one of them into his graveyard slot without a second though.

"I'll start by activating my Frost Dragon again, lowering your Abandonment of Hope's attack force by 500." As Ronin was speaking, a ghastly white fog was racing from the mouth of the dragon, engulfing the gray skinned beast, causing its power to decline greatly (1400/1400). "But I'm not through yet! I activate this magic card." Ronin smirked, holding up the other card he had drawn. On it a massive glowing blue ball could be seen easily before Ronin thrust it into his duel disk. "Go; Frozen Sun!"

Just as said, a large glowing ball of light appeared over Ronin's head. An artic mist came racing off of the blue, frozen sun and drenching Ronin's field in the ghost-like fog. His monster roaring, soaring upwards off of his field and vanishing before the blue sun.

"Frozen Sun lets me sacrifice a monster on my field to special summon one from my hand with seven or more stars." Thrusting up a card in his hand, Ronin wasted no time slapping it down onto his duel disk, causing the machine to go nuts reading the data. "I choose Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon! (3000/2500)"

The ice carved dragon came flying out of the frozen sun, shattering the image as it came though, hovering behind its master with the greatest of ease, letting out a powerful roar from deep in its thin throat.

"Go!" Ronin jerked his right arm around his body, swiveling it so that he could thrust his left hand forward towards Freyr's demonic knight. "Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon attack! Destroy Abandonment of Hope!"

"This is where you are wrong again human." Freyr spoke as the massive dragon was releasing a blast of artic flames from its powerful carved jaw, racing across the field towards Freyr's monster. "I reveal my trap! Call of the Earthbound is a deadly trap that allows me to direct the attack of a monster on your field to any one I choose on my field."

"My dragon is unaffected by magic and trap cards." Ronin smirked, but having it fade when he saw ghost like purple arms come racing out of the pool of white energy, grabbing onto the floating blast of energy, holding it there in mid air.

"Your dragon is, yes." Tal spoke from the sidelines, catching Ronin's instant attention. "But this card goes after the attack, not the dragon. Seems your ego got ahead of yourself and now you will pay for it."

"Damn." Ronin growled, bringing his head back to the battle. He watched as the clear claws directed the attack towards the large floating eye behind Freyr.

"I say your Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon attacks my Fatal Eye." Freyr called out, watching as the arms released the attack and it continued on its new path, crashing into the glowing eye behind him. "And I can use the ability of my Fatal Eye now." Freyr announced, holding out his right hand. From the glowing orb next to him, a beam of light shot out, forming a card that landed between his demonic fingers. "I can spare it from dying by decreasing its star level by one. To do that, I must send a dark monster from my deck to my graveyard."

Flipping the card over, Ronin recognized this one as a monster known as Wall of Illusion. Flicking his wrist, Freyr let the card barely come out of his hand, floating silently downward towards the ground. On its way, the card became engulfed with a wicked blue flame, burning into nothingness by the time it would have hit the ground.

"Once my monster loses all of its stars, it'll gladly destroy itself." Freyr continued, letting his right arm fall to his side now that his little combo for the turn was finished.

"How many stars does your little eye have?" Ronin growled, shuffling the two cards he held in his hand.

"Three to start with, so now he's got two more." Came Freyr's response, giving a bit of ease to Ronin.

"_That means it doesn't have a lot of extra lives to spare. It won't last long."_ Ronin let his arm fall to the side. "Alright then, I finish with my turn. Your move. Since my move is done, your monster will get back the attack points it lost."

(Abandonment of Hope 1900/1400)

"Then I take a new resource." Freyr announced as a blast of light bursting from the orb of light and landing in his hand. "This will trigger the effect of my Abandonment of Hope. During my standby phase he gives me the ability to decrease that attack of all monsters on your side of the field by 200 points," holding out his left hand he fanned open the five cards there, "times the number of cards I am holding."

"That's…" Ronin growled, knowing that the effect didn't target, leaving his monster completely vulnerable to the effect. He also knew that it was going to cut its power drastically. "One thousand points."

(Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon 2000/2500)

"Yes." Freyr wasted not time yanking out a new card and thrusting it into the air. "Perfect time them to summon Loss of Faith (1800/1500)."

This new monster was like the first with how monotone its skin and armor was. This one had is face though hidden behind a mask of iron bars where smoke calm rolling out of the bottom, falling down the monster's pear shaped body. In its hands it held a long lance with huge, razor sharp point on each end of it.

"Loss of Faith allows me to discard one card from my deck that is the same attribute as it is to give it a 700 point boost." Holding out his right hand again, Freyr let a blast of light from the floating orb next to him land neatly between his fingers. Flipping it around he showed the yellow bordered card to Ronin. "Loss of Faith being a light attribute monster at the moment lets me send from my deck to my grave Shining Abyss." The card instantly vaporized itself in Freyr's hands, leaving nothing left of the monster card. (2500/1500)

Continuing without even pausing, Freyr reached over and jerked a new card from his deck, thrusting it forward so that it left his fingers and spiraled directly into the back of his Abandonment of Hope monster, sinking directly into the skin.

"I use the magical energies of Traitor's Backstab. With this my Abandonment of Hope can attack a monster on my own side of the field this turn." Jerking his arm backwards he pointed to the floating eye with his right hand. "Go! This is your target!"

With a thrust of his gray bladed sword, the monster sent a blaze of black and yellow light rushing outwards, colliding into the massive floating eye behind his master. As it hit, it went blasting off, hitting the walls, floor and ceiling of the tiny cave they were in, kicking up a lot of dirt and dust.

"Of course I'll be using my monster's special power." Freyr called out, though Ronin couldn't see him. "I'll send my Mask of Darkness to the graveyard to spare my Fatal Eye monster."

"_Why is he attacking himself? He must have some reason for wanting to throw so many of his monsters into the graveyard via his Fatal Eye."_ Ronin pondered, watching as the dust began to settle again. _"But his eye has only one more life to live through. That should have put it down to one star."_

"Loss of Faith attack!" Freyr bellowed just as he became fully visible through the brown smoke of dirt, watching as his other gray skinned monster went flying forward, thrusting the lance deep into the chest of the ice dragon, causing it to roar in pain before shattering into a billion little fragments of ice.

Ronin-3300 LP  
Freyr-3400 LP

"Now is the time for me to pay up." Freyr spoke, watching his own two monster that stood before him shatter into a million pieces. "Abandonment of Hope and Loss of Faith both come with a drawback if you use their ability. If a monster on your side of the field is destroyed, they are killed instantly, no matter how your monster was." Smirking as he held up another card, he tossed it into the air, watching as it formed a ball of light, splashing down on his field at his feet again. "Which is fine with me. I'll set one hidden surprise on my field and end my turn."

"Then I'll blow you out of the water this turn!" Ronin yelled out, snapping a new card off of his deck and thrusting into his hand of cards to make three. Yanking out one that was already there he slapped it down onto his duel disk, causing a hologram to appear before him with an incredible amount of force. "I call forth: Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness! (1800/1500)"

"And your monster goes away now." Freyr smirked, watching as the monster fell out of sight, becoming lost in a deep hole that had appeared under his feet, just vanishing seconds later along with the pool of light on Freyr's field. "I use my Trap Hole card to destroy your monster when it's summoned."

"Well that is just lovely." Ronin growled, looking down at the two cards in his hand. With an angered motion he pushed them into his duel disk. "I set these two cards face-down and end." He announced as the two cards appeared down next to the first.

"Finding your not as strong as you wanted to believe boy?" Tal began to laugh, watching as Ronin glared at him. He didn't show it, but Tal knew that he was not only incredibly angry, but embarrassed that his moves were being stopped. Being counted. So effortlessly indeed.

Holding up a new card that was formed by the ball of light hovering next to him, Freyr smirked, having a devious plan in the back of his mind. "I was hoping for more, but knowing I was the winner of this game from the start, I might as well finish it."

"I'd like to see you try." Ronin growled, his eyes flickering to his three set cards, knowing they'd be more than enough to stop any attacks from Freyr.

"I will use my Fatal Eye as a tribute," Freyr began to speak as the eye behind him converted itself back into light, rushing around the red demon and forming a ball of energy before him. "I shall call forth this: Sky Scourge Invicil!"

The ball of light began to form itself into a more human-like outline. Fading, the light began to reveal the actual monster underneath. It was tall, with pale white skin tinted with a shade of purple. Its body, clad in solid, pitch black leather, was couched over, letting a pair of white wings jut out of the back. The wings though at the bottom were jagged, pointy, and had a rim of black around them like they had been burned off. (2200/1600)

"Your 2200 attacker doesn't scare me." Ronin boasted, trying to push off the hideous monster. As he spoke, it was using its long, crimson red finger nails to run through the long, mound-up pile of white hair that was resting on its head.

"It should. It gains effects depending on what was sacrificed for it. Since I used a dark, fiend type monster, your trap cards are now null-n-void." Freyr pulled out another card from his hand, thrusting it up into the air. "But this isn't the end; I shall bring forth another Sky Scourge."

The card became a ball of light, blasting out more streams of pure white energy that landed next to the first monster with great ease, beginning to take form into another human-like shape.

"By removing from my graveyard three light fairy monsters and one dark fiend I can special summon this monster. I give up; Shining Abyss, Abandonment of Hope, Loss of Faith and Fatal Eye in order to summon: Sky Scourge Enrise!"

What came into shape was a snow white monster with long, fully feathered white wings. Leather straps ran around its upper arms, and gloves were dawned over its long, skinny fingers. Its legs were also covered by tight leather pants with many straps running around the legs. Long, white hair came racing out of a headband-like item wrapped around the monsters head, covering its eyes. The most distinctive feature of this monster was the large, rainbow colored vortex right in the middle of the monsters stomach. (2400/1500)

"Enrise could remove face-up monsters from the field from play, but I don't really think that is necessary in this case, would you?" Freyr smirked, thrusting his arm forward towards his opponent. "Finish him my Sky Scourges!"

All Ronin saw with his eyes were the two monsters coming towards him. Then his world went black. Solid black. He had no feeling, no senses, he was completely wiped out.

Ronin-0 LP  
Freyr-3400 LP

* * *

Thoth pulled a new card from his deck, holding it up to his face so he could see it. Reku had the field dominated at the moment with his Reflect Bounder and his set card, but it duel was still young, and Thoth was ahead by 1700 life points. 

"I will set this card face-down." He said, moving the drawn card into his duel disk, watching as the hologram materialized before him. "And this shall be my monster for this turn; Toxic Sphinx (2000/300)!"

Slapping the card onto his duel disk, Thoth instantly saw results as the black skinned lion like beast came bounding over its master, landing on the field before him. Its head, sitting a bit high up on its body, was that of a fierce cat. Its long, flat footed feet patting softly the grass beneath it. All across its black skinned stone body yellow and purple lines traced their way into a very symmetrical pattern.

"Toxic Sphinx destroys your Reflect Bounder!" Thoth yelled, sending his monster into battle. With great ease, the monster crushed the mirror covered machine under its flat footed pawn. Bits of data went floating through the air before Reku as he started speaking.

"My Reflect Bounder is exactly like your little Mirror Sphinx, now you'll take damage equal to the attack points of your monster you destroyed him with."

"I'm not so stupid to fall into your trap." Thoth motioned to the area before Reku. Looking, Reku noticed something incredibly strange about the data bits that were floating away from the battle field. They were solid black, each having a slight purple aura rising off of them. "Toxic Sphinx poisons your monster, negating any and all effects it would have. So you're the only one getting hurt here."

Reku-2000 LP  
Thoth-4000 LP

"_That's just lovely."_ Reku moaned, sliding the card into his graveyard slot. He was hoping to do some major damage to Thoth with it, but it seems his opponent was one step ahead of him.

"I'm finished human." The sphinx landed on Thoth's field again, snarling a bit at his opponent when Thoth announced his turn was finished.

Reku wasted no time in drawing his deck card, professionally whipping it through the air and adding it to his hand. His eyes scanned over each card he was holding while the gears in his head were turn, trying to process some sort of tactic he could use. _"I've got nothing strong enough to beat his Toxic Sphinx…"_

A card was freed from his hand, placing it horizontally on his duel disk, watching as the card materialized before him.

"I set one monster in face-down defense mode. This ends my move." Reku removed his fingers from the card on his disk, looking up at Thoth yanking another card off of his own deck.

"Draw!" Forcing the drawn card into his hand, he released it and used his now free right arm to point to Reku's set monster. "Attack!"

Racing forward again, the black sphinx crashed down on top of the card, causing it to spit out a metallic man that went rolling over the grassy fields, the two swords he was holding flying through the air and sticking into the side of a hill before evaporating into the night sky along with the little man.

But that wasn't all; the Toxic Sphinx began to roar before shattering itself into a million tiny data fragments, floating through the air.

"What happened?" Reku watched, a bit confused as to what was going on before him. Taking the card off of his duel disk he flipped it over and slid it into his graveyard slot. _"Alpino the Mech Warrior (1600/1500) wasn't strong enough to do anything to that monster, and it has no effect to him…so how did it destroy his monster?"_

"Whatever I hit must have been a normal monster card." Thoth said, holding up the card before placing it into his graveyard slot. "He negates effects of monsters he destroys, but as a draw back to him, if he faces a normal monster card and destroys it, it kills himself."

Taking another card from his hand he slapped it down onto his duel disk, watching as the card appeared before him. On the card, a tan warrior appeared with a wooden handled spear in his hand crossed over its body. His head was that of one of the great sphinxes of Egypt, adorned with a golden head dress as well. His eyes narrowed, glaring out at the field.

"I summon Sphinx Militant (1100/800) in defense mode, ending my move." Letting his arms fall to his side, Thoth stared at Reku who was examining his new monster. _"I'm sure he remembers a few of my combos from when I faced off against that Kevin human, but it's different from knowing my strategy, and actually stopping them. Besides, as I'm sure he's already been able to deduct, I'm not going to pull the same tactics right off the bat. I've got more up my sleeves. This is what made me better than any filthy human on the battle field."_

Reku was indeed pondering what to do, looking at the new monster that he would be facing. _"I'm trailing by half my life points, but this duel is far from over yet. I have to fight as hard as I can."_ Looking down at his stack of cards he had in his duel disk, he took a deep breath before placing his hand on the top card. _"I believe in you, my deck…"_ With a jerk of his wrist, he freed the top card and swung it out into the air. "Draw!"

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Sky Scourge**** Enrise**  
2400/1500/8/Light/Fairy  
This card cannot be Normal Summoned. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by removing 3 LIGHT Fairy-Type monsters and 1 DARK Fiend-Type monster from your Graveyard from the game. You can remove a face-up monster on the field from play. If the effect is activated, this card cannot attack during this turn. This effect cam only be activated once per turn.

Ronin: "I have heard of a card that is like this, but much more powerful. This is my first time ever actually getting to see this card, and the first time I've ever seen it in play. I must admit, it has a lot of power to it. It costs three light fairy-type monsters and one dark fiend-type monster from your grave to summon, so four monsters for the price of a 2400 behemoth. But he can remove a monster on the field from play, making him pretty dangerous if used at the right time."

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	34. Go Forth Strong

Episode 34: Go Forth Strong

Racing through the calm, crisp night air, the gentle breeze was cut by the glowing rays of light being thrown down to the ground by the hovering moons. The breeze carried with it the low humming of duel disks as it raced past the Egyptian demon and the young man who were dueling in the small dip in the hills that surrounded them.

Looking at his newly drawn card, Reku placed it among the other cards he already held, bringing his total up to five. Taking a new card, he examined it for a second before looking past it to his waiting opponent.

"I summon Robotic Knight in attack mode!" Reku called, placing it on the duel disk he held before him. Blasting up from the ground, a fountain of sparks released a large android that raced through the air before landing on the soft grass before the fountain, disappearing a second after the monster appeared.

It was clad in metal armor, resembling that of a general's attire. His right hand held a think, cylinder like saber that he brought down to his side, holding up his other hand which had a gatling gun replacing it (1600/1800).

"Robotic Knight attack!" Reku announced, thrusting his arm forward towards Thoth's crouching defensive warrior and the set card Thoth has lying directly behind it. "Destroy that monster with your Commandment Fire!"

"Or so you wish." Thoth said, wasting no time in motioning to his set card. "My trap card; Cartouche Security! This card takes a monster with Sphinx in its name and makes it immune to being destroyed in battle." Thoth let his set card flip up, watching as a laser beam of light came blasting out of the card image, tracing a large oval around his crouching monster. "And any monster that dares attacks it loses 500 attack and defense points."

"What?!" Reku was shocked, unable to stop his monster from firing off his gatling gun, sending a massive array of bullets racing through the air and crashing into an invisible shield that sprang up from the burned oval in the grass. Glowing, the ring around the monster sent out a ghost like aura, seeping into the body of Robotic Knight, causing it to groan and creak in protest. (1100/1300) "I…end my turn."

Clenching his fist, he watched his monster slowly creep down ward, draping its upper body from its waist, completely drained of energy.

"Draw." Thoth was calm and collected as he drew his card. He knew he had his opponent now in a bind and wasn't going to let it easily get away from him. Placing his new card in his hand, he pulled his next card from the end of the five cards he held, holding it up for Reku to see "I activate: Hieroglyphic Hierarchy. This lets me take two level five or higher monsters from my deck and show them to you. You'll select one and it'll come to my hand, the other goes to the grave."

Fanning open his deck, Thoth began to shift through its folds looking for the two cards he wanted. Finding them quickly he pulled them out and palmed them as he began to shuffle his deck once again.

"Choose one." He announced, placing his deck back into his duel disk and thrusting the two cards forward.

Reku eyed the two cards. One of them was named Hieracosphinx, the other one was Guardian Sphinx. Remembering Hieracosphinx from Thoth's duel with Kevin, he wondered if it wasn't better to get rid of the strongest attacker.

"_Guardian Sphinx only has 1700 attack, but 2400 attack could easily wipe me out."_ Reku began to life his hand, pointing to the card that to him, was on his right. "I choose Hieracosphinx for you to discard."

"Humans always go for the stronger monster." Thoth grinned a bit, having just used Hieracosphinx as bait to get Reku to discard that. He really wanted Guardian Sphinx of the two of them, still holding it in his hand as he discarded his other monster to the grave.

With a whip of his arm the monster found its way to the duel disk, causing the device to respond with its typical lights and buzzers.

"Thanks to Sphinx Militant, my Guardian Sphinx is two levels lower than normal, making him a level three monster. I summon him to the field now, in attack mode!"

What appeared this time was a much larger stone monster, carved into a very angry faced sphinx. It stood towering behind Thoth, glaring at Reku with its two beady red eyes lost in is eye sockets on its very decorated head. (1700/2400)

"I put my Sphinx Militant in attack mode." Thoth began, turning his monster card vertical on his dueling try. Motioning to the large rock sphinx above him with his arm, he smiled a bit at his own power. "Wipe out his monster." Thoth spoke, his deep voice sending chills down Reku's spine, taking his eyes off of his opponent and latching them onto the stone behemoth that towered behind his opponent.

Without moving the monster began to send out bright purple pulse waves, racing across the field and centering on the Robotic Knight. Creaking and groaning in protest, the Robotic Knight tried to fight back, but to no avail, as its body soon crumpled under the pressure, exploding into a large cloud of smoke and flames.

Reku-1500 LP  
Thoth-4000 LP

"Sphinx Militant, direct attack!" Thoth cried out, thrusting his arm forward, from its spot still pointing at the Guardian Sphinx behind him.

Dashing forward, the tan warrior thrust his pike forward, smashing into Reku's chest and sending him flying backwards onto his butt. The shockwave, combined with the pure magic of this world, made it feel like Reku actually had been stabbed right through the heart, forcing him to grab his chest for a moment as pain surged through his body.

Reku-400 LP  
Thoth-4000 LP

"Defend yourself all you want." Thoth spoke, pulling his arm back as his monster retreated back to his field. With a swift motion he yanked up the Guardian Sphinx card on his duel disk. "I'll activate this monsters special power. Once per turn, I can flip him into face-down defense mode. If at any time during my turn I flip summon him, all your monsters are returned to your hand."

The towering monster groaned slightly before vanishing into thin air, leaving absolutely no trace behind to indicate he was there. The only thing that remained was a brown backed horizontal card now resting before Thoth's feet, next to the tan Egyptian warrior.

"I end my turn."

"_I have to do something."_ Struggling to get to his feet and regain balance, Reku was trying to force the pain out of his chest, ignoring it so that he could continue to fight. _"I have only 400 life points left, and his Guardian Sphinx will leave me defenseless if I try to defend myself. But like-wise, it has 2400 attack points…far too many to deal with easily."_

Collecting the cards that had fallen out of his hand when he was assaulted, Reku placed them all back in his hand, reaching for his duel disk. His fingers trembled as he held the new card in his grasps, looking over it and the other options he had.

"I can do it." Reku growled, thrusting the card into his palm and pulling a new one from his hand, placing it into his duel disk. "I activate; Oil Drilling. This card lets me pull one fire attribute monster from my grave and put it in my hand. I choose, and re-summon, Robotic Knight!"

Blasting out of a geyser of sparks just like last time, the fully revitalized Robotic Knight landed on Reku's field, snapping its thin saber through the air to show off its new found strength. (1600/1800)

"Magic card," Reku continued to speak, flipping the newly drawn card out of his hand and into a slot on his duel disk, "Flame Fan go! This lets me drain the attack or defense of my monster and put that number on the remaining score. I'm going to give my monster an 1800 point attack boost!"

Appearing attached to the back of the monster, the large fan made of flaming feathers appeared, giving the monster a ruby colored aura that raced around the machine frantically. Sparks went flying from the both the joints of the monster, as well as the embers racing off the crackling flames. (3400/0)

"Destroy Guardian Sphinx!" Reku bellowed, thrusting his arm forward instantly, causing his monster to launch a river worth of bullets out of his gatling gun. Traveling across the field, the bullets turned the brown backed card into Swiss cheese in a matter of seconds, not even giving it a second though. The card faded out of existence as Thoth picked up the card, sliding it into his graveyard.

A brown back card appeared next to Reku's feet, adjacent to where his first set card had remained the whole duel.

"I set this face-down, ending my turn." Announcing with a swipe of his hand, Reku felt his confidence building up. _"I still have a chance to pull this back." _

"Impressive. I must admit human." Drawing a new card off of his deck, Thoth placed it with his other cards without even looking at it. "Drawing on your inner strength to pull out such a move when you needed it, quite a feet."

"I don't really think I need your praise." Reku replied, rubbing his right hand over his chest where he was stabbed just the turn before.

"Do be so ill receiving on compliments human." Thoth looked down at his hand of cards to see what he had, he looked up with a dark grin on his face, take a hold one of the cards he held. "Especially when a demon with as high of a rank as myself wishes to do so." Thrusting the card forward, Thoth showed a green bordered card to Reku before placing it into his duel disk. "I use Tribute to the Doomed to completely destroy your strategy. By discarding a card from my hand I am able to destroy one monster on your field."

Taking out another card, Thoth revealed an orange colored card with a picture of a green, winged snake on the image.

"I discard my Sinister Serpent (300/250), a monster capable of returning to my hand each turn from my graveyard, as the cost of my card. Say goodbye to your pathetic monster."

The pale white bandages of a mummy came racing out of the card image, wrapping themselves tightly around the machine man. Once its body was covered fully, Reku could see that the wrappings were being pulled taunt, squeezing his monster until finally the monster exploded, its mummified body sinking into the ocean of tall grass at his feet.

"Ahh, don't go crying now cause your pathetic monster is gone. It's just cost you this whole duel, your life, and all that you have. Sphinx Militant attack! Wipe out this pathetic scum!" Thoth was fired up by this point thrusting his arm forward with an intense force.

Nodding, the tan warrior held up it spear, charging forward with and intense blast of air behind it. Like a speeding comet, the Sphinx Militant raced through the empty space between the two duelists, jabbing the spear into Reku's chest again, causing him to scream as he went flying backwards from the impact.

Reku-0 LP  
Thoth-4000 LP

"Well that was pitiful." Thoth smirked, cracking his neck and cackling a bit to himself as to how easy the duel was. He watched as his monster came back to his field, holding up its spear as if the duel was going to continue. This made him slightly worried. "What's going on?"

"That useless bluff that you took to lightly." Reku said from his place on his back in the tall grass. "It's a trap card that activates if my life points hit zero."

"That'll save you from losing?" Thoth growled, watching as the oldest card on the field flipped up, glowing brightly as it showed the laying human with a mist of yellow rain.

"Spark of Life will reinforce my life points by 500, giving me a little bit of a chance yet to fight back." Reku said, sitting up, rubbing his chest. Pain was shooting through his rib cage, but he didn't mind because he was enjoying the situation. He knew that Thoth was embarrassed about it, that he had failed. Reku's observation was obviously correct, Thoth hated to fail.

Reku-500 LP  
Thoth-4000 LP

"Don't count me out as of yet." Reku pointed to his other set card, watching as it flipped up. "I wasn't holding the best of cards, but this worked out good. My other set card is known as Monster Steel Tunnel. When I take a direct attack, this card activates. It lets me pull a monster from my deck with equal or less attack power as the monster that attacked me, special summoning it to my field."

"What could a monster with 1100 really do?" Thoth asked, watching as a blast of light appeared on Reku's field. His Sphinx Militant wasn't the strongest monster in the world, but it was helpful to him.

What appeared on Reku's field was a large stone wall, circling around a pool of boiling lava. A small cave at the bottom of the rock wall was filled with two glowing blue eyes and snarling noises that seemed to be too loud for the model like monster.

"I chose my Thing in the Crater (1100/1200), defense mode." Reku spoke as he stood up, showing that new card on his duel disk and his deck in his hand. Shuffling it a few times he thrust it back into his duel disk. His eyes burning with a desire to keep living, to keep fighting. He knew that he had a second chance and he knew what he needed to do.

"Fine." Thoth whipped his arms through the air, activating two rips in space at his feet where two face-down cards appeared. "I set two cards on my field, ending my turn."

Rubbing his chest still, Reku looked at the field. So far he wasn't in the best of standings. _"His Sphinx Militant can't be killed in battle because of that Cartouche Security card. Also draining my monsters of power if I dare attack him."_ Yanking a new card from his deck, Reku flipped it up to his face before turning it and sliding it into his duel disk. "I activate for my turn, Pot of Greed. With this I draw two new cards."

Fanning open his two new cards as he plucked them from his deck, he was a bit down at what he saw. Not that it they were bad cards, he was just in a big pickle and he knew it.

"I set this face-down and end." Reku called out, sliding a card face-down into his duel disk.

"No you don't!" Thoth cried out, his set card flipping up with an incredible force, blasting out a gale force wind. "Dust Tornado wipes out a card on your field, and I'm choosing your set card!"

Reku's set Two-Man Flamethrower didn't stand a chance as the card was literally blown away, the hologram fading somewhere off in the distance once it got out of range of the duel disk.

"Draw!" Thoth cried out, snapping the new card off of his deck and holding up his duel disk to show his graveyard slot was illuminated with a bright blue light. "If you recall, I sent Sinister Serpent to my grave for Tribute to the Doomed, so now that returns to my hand per its own effect." Picking up the said card from the little ramp, Thoth added it and his newly drawn card to his hand. He smirked seeing that his new card was one of his most deadly cards. Yet, it was close to useless. _"My Pyramid of Light will cause this kids downfall. I just need to pull the pieces together now."_

Materializing the hologram at his feet, Thoth slid his Pyramid of Light card into his duel disk face-down, preparing it for later.

"First I set one card before activating this second card." Jerking his hand over, he motioned to his other set card which shot up like a bullet, also sending out a pulse wave of wind and bluish-green aura. "My trap card; Curse of the Tomb will make this interesting. I discard my entire hand; drawing new cards equal to the number I discarded plus one more. I must then remove from play any and all magic cards I draw."

Depositing the two cards in his hand in the graveyard, he quickly placed his tan fingers on the top card of his deck. Closing his eyes, Thoth concentrated on his deck, snapping the top three cards off and fanning them open.

"_Perfect, just like I knew it would be. My energy is to high for my deck to ignore me."_ He thought as he moved the new cards to his left hand. "I drew no magic cards to remove. Aren't I lucky?"

"Too much so." Reku growled, watching as Thoth shifted the cards on his duel disk.

"I switch Sphinx Militant to defense mode, ending my turn." As the Egyptian knight crouched down, the circle that was encasing it where it stood vanished in an up rush of vapor, leaving no trace of it or the continuous trap card the produced it. "During my third end phase after activating Cartouche Security, it destroys itself. So now my Sphinx Militant is vulnerable again."

"I see." Reku watched as Thoth moved the said card into his graveyard slot before drawing the top card off of his deck, holding it before his eyes. _"What do I got to lose?"_ He asked himself before sliding the card into his duel disk. "Alright, I activate Holy Fire; this magic card has two abilities. To start with, if I had no monsters on my field during my end phase, I could summon one that is a fire type pyro monster. Or I could destroy a fire type pyro monster on my field to destroy one monster on your field. I'm choosing the second."

The holographic magic card appeared behind Reku's large rock wall monster. The red flames on the image bathed in golden light began to spew out, engulfing the monster whole before shattering it into a million data fragments. Like water running through a busted damn, flames came streaming out of the card image, crashing into the tan monster crouching on Thoth's field, the flames incinerated the monster, turning it into a pile of ash that flew away from the rushing fire.

"When my Thing in the Crater is destroyed, I get to summon one Pyro type monster from my hand to the field." Pulling out a new card, Reku instantly slapped it onto his duel disk, causing the holographic monster to appear. A large, long molten rock snake, seething with flames, went spiraling up around Reku's body, hissing loudly as it took its rightful place on his field. "Solar Flare Dragon arise! (1500/1000)"

Slithering forward, the snake moved through the grass without catching it on fire surprisingly, standing itself up it hissed at its wide open opponent, distracting him from the brown backed card that appeared next to the Solar Flare Dragon.

"I set this face-down before declaring my attack!" Reku announced, watching his dragon open its mouth, forming a ball of flames between its rows of jagged teeth. "Solar Strike!"

Thoth braced himself as the sun of flames came blasting out of the monsters mouth, crashing into him which sent him instantly sliding backwards across the grass. Unlike Reku though, Thoth refused to fall down. Growling, Thoth felt a burning sensation on his skin, just like the pain Reku had felt when he was attacked.

Reku-500 LP  
Thoth-2500 LP

"Don't worry, I'm not done yet." Reku spoke, whipping his arm across his body. "I end my turn, triggering the effect of my dragon. He'll deal you 500 points of damage, just enough to render you with half your total left." As Reku spoke, his dragon opened its mouth once again, forming a ball of fire within. "Go! Solar Wind Destroyer!" Blasting out, the ball of flames opened up into a large blade of fire, crashing into Thoth's chest, sending him backwards yet again.

Reku-500 LP  
Thoth-2000 LP

"Filthy human…" Thoth growled, walking forward back to his dueling spot. He brushed off his front side, not seeming to be bothered very much by the flames that had just lashed him. "Draw!" He bellowed, yanking the top card off of his deck with ease, also snatching up the card that was ejected from the dark graveyard hole in his duel disk. "My Sinister Serpent comes back from my grave, giving me five full cards in my hand to work with."

Thrusting his hand downward, Thoth motioned to his set card, watching as it slowly crept upward, activating.

"Enough games. I activate my set trap card; Pyramid of Light! With this, my best monsters can come to the field!" Thoth grabbed two of the cards in his hand, slapping them down onto his duel disk with the greatest of ease. "At the cost of 500 life points each, I can special summon to my field: Andro Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia!"

What appeared first was Andro Sphinx, a large, chocolate brown skinned, two legged beast, towering high above the field. Its blue chest plate of armor glimmered in the light as it thrust its chest forward, letting an overpowering roar bellow from deep in it throat, blasting out of its lion-like face. The golden mane of hair whipped back with the beast jerking motions. (3000/2500)

Sphinx Teleia was a lot shorter, being a four legged monster, crashing onto the soft grass next to its towering partner. She had the body of a lion, short gray fur raced all across her hide until it came to her head, which was that of a female human. Long, flowing red hair came down, obscuring one of her deep blue eyes from view. Curling up her lips into a twisted smile, the beast jerked its own head back, opening its jaw wide to reveal inhuman like teeth inside. Like its partner, it let out a fierce roar into the night air. (2500/3000)

Reku-500 LP  
Thoth-1000 LP

"Let's finish this, human." Thoth bellowed, grabbing his newest card that he had drawn this turn, flicking it into his duel disk. "My two sphinx monsters can't attack this turn because of how they were summoned, but I don't intend to attack with either of them. Instead I activate this magic card: Emergency Provisions. This sends magic or trap cards from my field to the grave, giving me 1000 points per card sent."

What appeared on Thoth's field was a magic card showing food rations. Manifesting from the card image, a large, transparent, black tinted arm reached out, grasping the face up Pyramid of Light trap card, crumpling it in its grasps and dragging it back into the Emergency Provisions hologram before shattering it into a million pieces. Floating through the air, the pieces soon manifested themselves as sky blue rain, falling gently over Thoth.

Reku-500 LP  
Thoth-2000 LP

"Now here is the kick in the metaphorical balls." Thoth said, yanking one of the two remaining cards in his hand out, thrusting it forward. "When Pyramid of Light goes to the graveyard, it destroys Sphinx Teleia and Andro Sphinx. When they both go to the grave at the same time, I can call forth my greatest beast. At the cost of 500 life points, meet Theinen the Great Sphinx! (3500/3000)"

Reku-500 LP  
Thoth-1500 LP

Nodding to one another, the two large sphinx monsters jumped into the air, vanishing beyond a sphere of light that encompassed the sky above Thoth. What came out of the other end though was a horrible, gigantic chimera, floating down to the earth on two large, outstretched, yellow feathered wings. The gray furred body of Sphinx Teleia landing on all fours, while the body of the Andro Sphinx came jutting upward, turning the beast into a centaur.

"And at the cost of 500 more life points, my Theinen is going to grow in attack power. Three thousand points to be exact!" Thoth jerked his hand up towards the sphere of light still hovering above him. It began to float down, vanishing as it was sucked into the skin of the giant monster resting on the field. (6500/3000)

Reku-500 LP  
Thoth-1000 LP

"Destroy!" Thoth bellowed, stomping his right foot forward as he jerked his open right hand forward, aiming his own invisible attack at Reku's waiting snake monster. Theinen's attack wasn't as invisible though. Lunging forward, the beast came falling down through the air, landing on top of the snake monster, shattering it into a million data fragments.

To Thoth's surprise though, he watched the fragments all pull together, flying underneath Reku's set card, pushing the hologram up to show a purple boarded card, glowing in a fiery aura.

"You've triggered my trap!" Reku announced, yanking his deck out of his deck slot. "Crest of Fiery Spirit works when a fire monster is killed in battle. I negate all damage done to my life points." Fanning open his deck, Reku grabbed a card from near the bottom, pulling it out before shuffling his deck once more.

"So then what else does your card do that lets you search your deck?" Thoth growled, pulling himself into a more straight composure on his field.

"Glad you asked." Reku smirked, clicking the deck back into his duel disk before flipping over the orange colored card he held. "It lets me pull a monster from my deck that is one level higher or one level lower than the monster destroyed. Since my Solar Flare Dragon was a level four monster, I get a level five or," slapping the card down onto his duel disk horizontally, Reku's monster card soon became materialized before him, "or a level three monster."

What appeared was a small monster in a bright red uniform, crouching on the card on its knees. A helmet was over his head, pulled down to cover the monsters eyes as it held a iron, spiked bar in front of its body.

"I choose my level three: Ultimate Baseball Kid (500/1000)!" Reku cried out, Thoth's jaw dropping slightly to let a black gap between his tan lips appear.

"You saved yourself from being destroyed." Disbelief rushed over his body. He didn't think anything could stand up to his power. His strongest monster did nothing against his opponent's life points. "Fine, I end my turn, dropping my monster back down to his original attack power"

(Theinen the Great Sphinx 3500/3000)

"Then here I go!" Reku slashed the top card off of his deck, whipping it far out to his side. _"I need to draw something that can help me fight that monster. Help me beat his best." _

The card he held was pulled swiftly back, placed before his brown eyes who widened when he saw it.

"This will do. I activate the magic card; Card of Sanctity! With this, we both draw until we hold six cards in our respective hands." Looking down, he saw the single card he held there. Smirking he moved back up to stare at his opponent, who was also holding but a single card. "Looks like we each draw five."

"Pointless." Thoth snarled, snapping five cards off of his deck and fanning them open. "There is nothing you can do to save yourself. Theinen is just too powerful."

"We'll see." Reku placed his hand on his deck, pulling the top card off and flipping it over. Again, he pulled the new card from his deck and placed it into his hand. Three more times he did this, his eyes growing wide each time he did. _"I've got what I need!"_

"Must have drawn something to give you that look." Thoth mocked, watching as Reku yanking out one of the cards, holding it up. "Let's see what you think you can do against my great beast. But I tell you, it's all in vain."

"I sacrifice Ultimate Baseball Kid in order to summon to my field; Jinzo!" Reku instantly replaced the horizontal card on his duel disk with the new card he pulled from his hand.

The imagery on the field was more of the same. A blast of white and yellow light pillared up around the crouching baseball player, vaporizing the small monster to replace it with a tall, green armored humanoid-like figure. Its peach skin was hid behind an android like face with two glowing plates for eyes. Its neck was long with spikes coming out of the sides, racing down to its plate like shoulder blades. (2400/1500)

"Jinzo negates all trap cards with his effect." Reku announced as he whipped another card out of his hand, sliding it into his duel disk behind the newly summoned monster. "Even though you don't have any set, this is to safeguard my move incase you pull some odd trap that can be played from your hand. That way, my magic card will go through. I activate Power Bond!"

Jerking two other cards from his hand he held them up towards the heavens, motioning to his own sphere of light that had formed in reaction to his Power Bond card.

"I fuse Jinzo, Mech Dragon Blaster (2500/2000), and Barrel Dragon (2600/2200) into my strongest monster." Reku bellowed, watching as his green armored android was sucked skyward, vanishing beyond the barrier of light.

Gurabe, Chao and Kooru came over yet another hillside on their travels. The land was hard to travel, and the multiple hills made them all tired. Looking out towards the horizon, the three of them were awestruck by a glowing sun just barely off of the ground.

What popped out of the sphere of light was a winged android in very futuristic armor, floating upwards into the sky before slowly descending back through the dispersing orb of light and vanishing beyond a hill top.

"That was…" Chao began, a bit lost for words at the moment.

"That was Reku's monster." Gurabe called, a bit too happy then his typical self allowed. "There is no doubt about it, Reku is over there."

"Then let's hurry." Kooru cried out, starting down the hillside towards the spot where the monster had just owned the skies a few moments before.

"What about your weapon?" Chao cried out after him as he began to race down the hill after the demon. Gurabe following behind in silence, a bit slower than the human.

"We are heading in that direction anyways." Kooru yelled back, making it to the bottom of the hill with ease. "Plus, I have a feeling that if that is Reku, he's dueling something, or someone."

Flapping massive green scaled wings with whitish skin stretch throughout, the man shaped android descended to the soft earth below, blowing all the grass away from its landing point. Its metal clanked as it touched down on the earth. Gum metal armor with navy blue vents raced up the newly armored Jinzo body. Over the bald head of the machine was a green dragon head, covering all but the duo of deadly red glass eyes. Shooting out of the shoulders of the behemoth were two long barrels, each pointed directly at Thoth. (5000/5000)

"Android Dragon Tyrant, a super being in himself. But not only is he superior to all of your monsters, he was summoned with an added spark." Raising his arm into the air, Reku's outstretch arm pointed to the darkened sky above. "Power Bond doubles the attack of the monster it fusion summons."

Glowing in a dark blue aura, the monster began to creak and clank, gaining power all the while its master was speaking. (10000/5000)

"Finish!" Reku bellowed, jerking his arm down towards his monster. Reacting to his master's scream, the monster blasted out blood red balls of energy from each cannon, surging with a dark blue and purple aura the spiraled around the energy bullets as they cut through the thick air. Holes blown directly through the monster caused it to roar in pain, flipping backwards onto its back before shattering into a million data bits in a violent explosion.

Reku-500 LP  
Thoth-0 LP

Ripping through the small valley, the explosion engulfed Reku and his field, throwing his body flying through air. Crashing into the side of a hill, Reku's body went numb from the impact. The intense blast continued sending out pulse waves, literally moving Reku's body up the hill.

Thoth wasn't immune either, his body being thrown back through the air, though he landed on his feet on the side of a grassy hill behind him, bracing his body as the waves pounded past him. He was stronger and could stand up to it, but he was still in complete shock.

"_How in the hell did that filthy human beat me?!"_

Reku's vision was blurring, having hit the wall knocking the wind out of him. The next thing he knew he was being lifted off of the ground, being put in someone's grasp as he was taken over the hill at a speed so fast it didn't register with him until after it already had happened.

"Are you ok human?" A familiar voice raced into Reku's world, causing him to jerk his head to the right to see the suited zombie that he had grown familiar with.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Reku sputtered out, shaking his head to try to throw off the dizzy feeling that had clamped onto him. Looking up, he saw that Kooru was the one that had grabbed him. "Thanks Kooru, thanks Gurabe and..." Looking over he tilted his head to the side as he stared at the new person standing there. "Thank you, whoever you are."

Laughing out loud, Chao rubbed the back of his head. He knew who Reku was, but it was obvious that Reku had never met him before. "I'm Chao. Chao Ryota. I'm an old friend of Kiro's and Kaira's."

"I see." Reku pushed himself upwards, being helped up by Kooru until he was standing on his own two feet. "So what are you guys doing out here?" He asked, looking around. "There doesn't seem to be much out here for you guys to be doing."

"We are looking for my weapon." Kooru began, standing up straight behind Reku, as he was couching down before when he arrived with Reku. "After getting our asses handed to us, I fear that it is the only way we'll stand a chance of stopping him."

"And your turn, what are you doing out here?" Gurabe reflected the question right back to its owner. "And where have you been?"

"Long story."

* * *

Skidding to a stop, Kiro kicked up a cloud of dirt as he reached the top of one of the millions of hills in the field. His eyes were locked on his target, flying high above him, out of his reach even if he were to have jumped with his demon like strength backing him. 

"_You will pay bitch. You will not live to tell the tale of how you hurt Kaira while I am around."_

Waiting to see which direction she was flying, Kiro braced himself, taking off running again to keep up with her.

"_Just you wait."_

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Android Dragon Tyrant**  
5000/5000/10/Fire/Machine  
(Mech Dragon Blaster) + (Jinzo) + (Barrel Dragon)  
A Fusion Summon of this monster can only be conducted with the above Fusion Material Monsters. Once per turn, flip three coins. For each heads, destroy one card on your opponent's side of the field (magic and trap cards cannot be chained to this destruction) and your opponent takes 500 points of damage. For each Tails you take 500 points of damage. This card is unaffected by the effects of Trap cards.

Reku: "It's been a while, but now it's my turn to show off the powerhouse of my deck. I rarely call on Android Dragon Tyrant, just because of how hard he is to summon. His triple fusion requirements make him a hard one to pull together. But he makes a nice card to fall back on when or if I need an incredible amount of power. Five thousand attack and defense points are only amplified by his multiple effects. The ability to destroy things and deal burn damage, as well as being unaffected by traps. Though he will burn you if you if your luck should run out."

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	35. If I Had To

Episode 35: If I Had To

Sweat had formed on Kaira's forehead, being wiped away moments later by a dry, white towel, before a damp, wet one was gently positioned on the spot. Her breathing had become erratic, making her chest rise and fall quickly.

Consciousness had slipped through her fingers, her state going south ever since the group from inside the castle had ran out to the lawn where Kiro had left her before chasing off like a mad man after Dementia.

They had brought her back inside, placing her on her own bed in the same room where Hebanu and Heruru were still resting peacefully. They had gained back a lot of strength, but they were resting none-the-less to gain back as much strength as they could.

Order sat back, staring at the young girl. Her face was pale, almost tinted purple. This made Order slightly sick to see, she knew what was happening, but she couldn't help but think that it was painful.

"How is she?" Akina asked, walking in the room, keeping her voice down as to not wake any of the three of them. Sachiko walked in slightly behind Akina, also looking down at the female body on the ground.

"This is not good." Order responded, looking up at the two women. "I've never dealt with anyone getting bit by a vampire, but if it's like any of the tales, anyone bit by one will become a vampire themselves."

"So, Kaira's going to be a vampire?" Sachiko asked, getting a sad nod from Order as confirmation.

"Let's hope that Kiro can stop it from happening." Akina spoke up, bowing her head slightly towards the girl.

"You have to trust in Kiro." A new voice spoke up, causing the three of them to spiral around to see the long, green haired woman taking up the space of the doorway. Chime had a serious look on her face, but not a mean one. "I know my brother won't stop if he has his sights set on something. He's always been like that."

Sachiko suppressed a rude comment that was boiling up about the ex-enemy that was standing there, but Akina stepped forward, her typical sweet look in her eyes.

"I personally do not doubt your brother. From what little I know about him, he does want to use the power he has to help his friend. Kaira and he seemed pretty close from the first time we saw them, and the way he took off leaves no doubt in my mind that he'll chase Dementia to the end of the world for her."

That is when the four of them heard it. A low, deep grumble in the room from behind them. Flipping around, they were just in time to watch Kaira rolling off of her mat, and popping to her feet, her eyes still closed. Around her body seemed to be a deathly black aura, gripping her in its cold embrace.

"…uh…Kaira?" Akina asked, watching as the young woman lifted her head, her eyes popping open to reveal solid white spheres, her pupils gone. This caused Akina, Sachiko, Order and Chime to shudder at the sight.

* * *

Loosing his footing, Reku's right foot slipped out from under him and the man went rolling down the side of the grassy hill, hitting the ground at the bottom rather roughly at the bottom, flopping his arms and legs outwards. His eyes opened to gaze up towards the starry sky above.

"Are you ok?" Chao asked, sliding his way down the hill as if he were on a skateboard, jumping just before he hit the ground and landing on the ground next to the sprawled out man.

"Not really." Reku moaned, sitting up rather slowly. "That explosion when my monster attack and the collision I had with the hill afterwards wasn't exactly easy on my body."

Gurabe, who was standing up the hill still looking down upon the two humans below with his arms crossed over his chest, rolled his eyes slightly, sighing through his dry, cracked lips. _"Humans"_

"Either way, we must hurry up and make a plan of what we are going to do." Kooru broke in, walking down the hill himself to the spot where Reku sat. "It was unexpected that we would find you out here, so this could change our strategy."

"All I know is that Ronin is still with Freyr." Reku said as he received help from Chao to stand upright again, hunching over slightly before being able to brace himself upright easier.

"And you're injured." Kooru spoke, looking at the fragile human. Thinking for a moment, he looked at Chao who was still standing next to Reku before cranking his head to look at Gurabe who was still standing up the hill a ways. "You two take him and head back towards the castle. I'll continue on."

"Will you be ok?" Chao questioned to Kooru, watching as the gray haired demon moved his head back towards him. Nodding, Chao got confirmation, or a good front, that Kooru had enough strength built up by this point.

"Then let's go." Gurabe said as he moved swiftly down the hill, stopping next to the other two humans.

"Good luck Kooru." Reku looked up at the demon before he and his other two traveling partners began to walk up the side of the next hill.

Kooru watched until the three of them vanished over the peak before he turned and started up a different hill himself, flying over the top in an instant and landing on the soft flat spot on the other side.

* * *

Stepping forward, Kaira caused the four women to jump back in fear. Coursing with a black, thick aura, she stared at them with her emotionless, yet angry eyes. Smirking slightly, she made her move, lunging forward and knocking Chime over onto the floor. Pinning her to the ground, Kaira stared at Chime's shocked face in a numb sanctuary gaze. Before Chime had realized it, Kaira had grabbed her left arm, pulling it up and unhooking her duel disk from her arm.

"What are you…" She began just before Sachiko tackled her off of Chime, sending Kaira to the floor of the room, but still managing to pull off Chime's duel disk, which she now held onto like a chunk of gold.

Swinging the disk through the air, Kaira clubbed Sachiko right in the face, causing her to spiral off of her and onto the floor herself. Thrusting herself to her feet, Kaira slid the duel disk onto her arm, causing the device to activate and hum to life. Snapping the spine like dueling field out, the life point counter shot up to 4000.

Chime, who was pulling herself off of the floor, Akina and Order all watched as Kaira pulled her own deck of cards out of her pocket and placed them into the green duel disk.

"D…duel…" She spoke, slowly, raspy, like her throat was incredibly dry inside.

"What?!" Chime and Akina both questioned at the same time, looking at one another more in shock that they blurted out the same question at the same time.

"You want to duel?" Akina broke the stare, looking back at the zombie-like girl who was staring right at them. With a cold, ridged movement she nodded her head 'yes'.

"Then a duel you shall get!" Sachiko hopped off the floor, burning incredibly hot not only from anger but the red spot on her cheek where the duel disk had made contact. Reaching her arm behind her, she motioned to Akina. "Let me borrow your duel disk."

"Um…" Akina looked at Order for a second before unlocking the duel disk from her wrist and handing it to the enraged woman. Sliding it on effortlessly, Sachiko pulled out her own deck of cards and placed them in the emerald green duel disk.

"Let's do this!" Sachiko cried out, watching the duel disk activate in her hands.

Sachiko-4000 LP   
Kaira-4000LP

Yanking six cards off of her deck, Sachiko silently declared her starting turn. Pulling out one of the cards she held, she slapped it down onto her duel disk.

"Mystic Tiger, in attack mode!" She cried out as the orange beast with raven black stripes appeared in the incredibly crowed space, causing Kaira to back up from the beast that was, quit literally, in her face. (1400/1000)

Snarling, the beast opened its mouth to show its pearly white fangs suddenly start to grow, turning grotesquely yellow and settling about twice the size they once were.

"I also equip my monster with the magic card: Beast Fangs. This will give my monster an additional 300 attack and defense points!" Sachiko declared, moving her hand away from the magic/trap zone where she had slid the card in. (1700/1300) "I end my turn with that."

Blankly staring, Kaira pulled six cards off of her own deck finally, adjusting her head so she could see what cards she had, despite her eyes missing any form of life. Taking a card, she pulled it out slowly, slapping it down onto her own duel disk.

"I play Faith Bird." She said, her voice stilly raspy and void of any emotional life. Before her appeared a large, blue bird, flapping its massive wings to fly up to the incredibly low ceiling. (1500/1100) "And I equip my monster with Follow Wind, giving it 300 attack and defense because it's a winged-beast type monster."

Magically, the blue bird began to change, its feathers turning strangely green with the activation of the magic card, causing it to squawk incredibly loudly. (1800/1400)

Heruru and Hebanu pealed open their eyes with a start, staring upwards at the massive bird monster as it swooped forward, kicking the tiger in the face with its talon, causing the beast to explode.

"What the hell?!" Heruru jumped to his feet, finding himself against the side wall, finally looking at what was going on before him. Looking over, he saw Hebanu had joined him. "Why the hell are you dueling in here? And you humans said us demons were rude! We were trying to sleep dammit!"

"It's not exactly as easy as that." Order cried out to the two demons who were still plastered up against the wall. "Kaira seems to be possessed by the vampire power she gained."

"She gained vampire powers?" Hebanu looked over at the lifeless look on Kaira's face.

"Not of her own free will." Akina threw in, answering the blue haired demon's question. "Dementia bit her."

Sachiko-3900 LP  
Kaira-4000 LP

"I end." Kaira's blank voice interrupted the conversation, declaring her move to be finished.

* * *

Having moved a long distance, Gurabe, Chao and the still weakened Reku moved over another hill, coming up upon a large tree. Reku leaned up against it once the three had covered the distance towards it, indicating that they should take a short rest. 

"This is all getting far too complicated for its own good." Gurabe sighed, watching as Reku turned so his back was against the tree. "I mean, how is it you ended up in the Dominion of the Beast without Order's help? Does anyone else know that you manage to make it here?"

"No, you guys are the first contact I've made with anyone since me and Ronin got here." Sighing, Reku's eyes fell to the soft grass mixed with clumped dirt around the base of the tree. "And it was the power of the Ruby and Sapphire crystals that brought us here. They somehow opened a rift between dimensions and we just came here."

"I see." Gurabe held up his own duel disk, looking down at the deck of cards he still had in the deck slot. "I guess I didn't realize our small fragments were strong enough to tear dimensional walls."

Rustling caught the ears of all three travelers, throwing their heads up to the branches of the tree above, and the black shadow that came busting out of the leaves and flying across the air before landing a good distance away from the three of them. Turning around, the newcomer revealed himself to be a tall, white skinned clown in a blue jester outfit.

Bouncing a bit on the heels of its spiked up shoes, the bell at the end of the long, purple hat sitting on its head jingled in the night air, accompanied only by its cackling laugh.

"Duel with me…or you'll be sorry." He began to speak, curling its bright red lips into a twisted smile. Its voice was very high pitched; a tone of laugher seemed to float heavily in each word.

Thrusting its arm out, the demented clown revealed a strange duel disk which appeared to be at the end of a short, but weak spring attached to a wrist band on its left arm.

"Gurabe, go." Chao spoke calmly, walking forward and holding up his own left arm where his duel disk locked into place.

"What?" Gurabe was shocked, a little mix of confusion as to what he was supposed to do, and a little more from the mere fact that he was being ordered around.

"You had the last duel, this one is mine. Take Reku and continue to go, I'll catch up with you!"

"But wait…" Reku lifted his hand, pointing to the strange opponent. "That's…Saggi the Dark Clown."

"It's a duel monster spirit. We ran into one earlier in our travels." Gurabe explained, putting his hand on Reku's shoulder and forcing the human to go. _"Why I'm listening to this human is beyond me…"_ He growled to himself as he slowly started to drag Reku behind him. "Come on, let's just get out of here."

Watching, Saggi began to cackle a bit. "So I see my opponent shall be the one who stands before me."

"Yeah, I will be!" Chao called out, sliding his own deck into his duel disk before drawing the needed five cards. "So go ahead and start this game."

"Very well I will." Saggi called out, revealing he already had a deck of cards in his duel disk. Yanking off six of them he fanned them open, staring at their faces.

* * *

Sachiko drew another card from her deck, glancing at the face of it before sliding it into her duel disk. 

"I set one card face-down." She called out as the set card materialized before her feet. Before it, a horizontally turned card appeared in a ripple of lights "And I set one monster in defense mode, ending my turn."

"Draw." Kaira's arm slowly pulled off the top card of her deck as she spoke, adding it to her hand. Pulling out another card she placed it on her duel disk next to the first. "I play Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #1 in attack mode."

A massive, blue skinned dragon monster appeared before Kaira. Its body was a bit chubby, and the monster itself looked a bit comical in its puffed up face and large blue eyes. (1400/1200)

"Winged Dragon attack." She spoke dryly as she issued her command, causing the plump dragon to send a massive fireball blasting from its razor sharp fangs and into the brown backed card that was waiting on Kaira's field.

Flipping over, the card revealed a blue skinned rat with an incredibly large shell on its back like a turtle. Squeaking loudly in fear, the rat pulled its head back under the lip of its shell as the ball of flames bounced off of its back.

"You hit my Prevent Rat (500/2000), which will only take a chunk out of your life points." Sachiko boasted, proudly flipping over the actual card on her duel disk as she spoke.

Sachiko-3900 LP  
Kaira-3400 LP

"End." Kaira spoke as she stared past both the new defending monster and Sachiko. She seemed to not be staring at anything, or anything that anyone could tell. It was hard to pinpoint her eyes when they were just white sheets.

* * *

Chao-4000 LP  
Saggi-4000 LP 

"As simple as it might be, I just lay a card in front of me." Saggi called out, placing the card onto his duel tray, causing the device to bounce slightly as he did.

Forming an instant afterwards before the cackling clown, a brown backed card appeared before him in a twister of lights.

"No more from me. Your turn now it be."

"Then I go!" Chao cried out, yanking the top card off his deck, fanning out his left hand of cards to survey all of his options. "I will special summon to start with, Gilasaurus!"

A rain of lights blasted up from the spot before Chao, ending in a large, bony, brown skinned raptor like dinosaur to come busting out and landing on the field. Cocking its head to the side, the monster let out a low clicking noise from deep in its throat. The two beady eyes in the side of the head of the beast were staring bloody murder at the dark clown. (1400/400)

Next to him, a brown backed card appeared in a flash of lights.

"I set one monster in defense mode for my normal summon."

"Two summons in one turn for free? How would this benefit me?" Saggi protested in his rhythmic way.

"Gilasaurus, when special summoned, would allow you to special summon a monster from your grave to the field. But since you don't have any, this only benefits me." Chao smirked, pleased of his tactical planning on that move. Holding out his arm, Chao wasted no time in announcing his attack. "Gilasuarus attack! Prehistoric attack!"

With a whip of its tail, the brown dino raced off across the field, snapping its power jaw down around the corners of the card, sinking its teeth all the way through the hologram. Exploding, the card was destroyed, pushing the dino through the air and back to Chao's field with ease.

"You may have fooled me, but this time it won't be so easy." Saggi called out, holding up the card that was on his springy duel disk. On it, a clown dressed in a yellow and green striped, baggy suit appeared with a large, red hat. "Peten the Dark Clown will not make me frown. He will remove himself from my grave, just to make sure you behave!"

A brilliant orb of light appeared on the field before the dark clown, revealing an identical monster to the one on the card Saggi held. Cackling, this clown removed its hat in a mock bow, revealing its perfectly bald head. A twisted smile also dawning its painted white face. (500/1200)

"_Peten removes himself from the graveyard to summon another copy of himself from the deck or his hand. Very interesting."_ Chao contemplated, looking down at the cards he held. "I end my turn."

* * *

"Draw!" Sachiko bellowed out, yanking the top card from her deck and looking it over before her eyes shifted to the other cards in her hand. "Not bad." She whispered to herself under her breath as she reached down to her duel disk. "I shift Prevent Rat to attack mode!" 

Standing up, the stubby monster looked as buff as it could, despite its mere 500 actual attack points.

"And then," moving her hand slightly back, Sachiko slid the card she had drawn into her duel disk, watching as the hologram appeared before her. "I activate my magic card: Wild Nature's Release! This card will increase the attack of one of my beast or beast-warrior type monsters by an amount equal to its defense points. My Prevent Rat has 2000 defense points, so it'll go to 2500!" Sachiko announced as the card sprayed out a magical, yellow mist across the small rodent monster.

The small squeaks became massive roars as the monster began to absorb the yellow mist, turning it into a deep violet aura around it, causing the monster to gain massive power (2500/2000). Bouncing of its spring like feet, the rat began to spin its body, the spike that lined the side of it shell turning the beast into a buzz-saw racing towards the dragon monster. Stabbing it right in the chest, the dragon began to roar before blasting into data bits all over the room.

Sachiko-3900 LP  
Kaira-2300 LP

"Good job my rat!" Sachiko praised her monster as it returned to her side of the field. Looking up, a smug look fell upon her face. "Now, Wild Nature's Release will kill the monster it used its effect on. But it won't get to this time around because I activate my trap card!"

Whipping her arm down to the set card, Sachiko instigated her plan as it flipped up, sucking in the rat instantly like a high powered vacuum.

"Beast Soul Swap returns one Beast type monster to my hand, and in exchange I can summon one Beast in its place." Putting her Prevent Rat card in her hand, Sachiko grabbed another card and slapped it down onto the duel disk in the same spot the monster once was. "I choose my Griffore!"

A red, round-like beast appeared crouching over its horizontally turned card, indicating it was in defense mode. It had a very bear like face, which it growled lowly from the fat lower jaw. (1200/1500)

"Ending my turn."

"Draw." Kaira emotionlessly pulled the next card off of her deck, holding it up so she could see it. Putting it into her hand she let her arm fall forward as she continued her move. "Faith Bird attack Griffore."

Soaring through the small space, the monster kicked out with its talon, sinking its claw into the back of the hunched over beast, causing it to instantly explode into data bits. Floating back to Kaira's side of the field, the monster settled in against the sealing, proud of its accomplishment.

"End."

* * *

"Then the turn comes back to me. Oh what fun this will be!" Saggi cried out, drawing his next card and adding it to his hand. Smirking again, the clown whipped its head back in an over-the-top laugh that made him seem psychotic. "Magic card go, give him a grand show! Sending in the Clowns!" 

Yanking out its deck, Saggi flipped through cards until he came to what he was looking for.

"_This can't be good. Sending in the Clowns allows him to summon up to two monsters with Clown in their title from his hand or deck. But it does cost him 1000 life points to use."_ Chao watched as the dark clown shuffled its deck again, sliding it back into its duel disk. With a wave of its gloved arm, the clown threw down the two cards he had grabbed, causing the spring loaded duel disk to bounce around wildly.

Chao-4000 LP  
Saggi-3000 LP

"First for me, I summon Dream Clown for you to see!" A mysterious pink and yellow clothed monster appeared before the clown. It's large, painted green eyes gazed out with its twisted, stiff lipped grin on its un-painted, human looking face. Down the arms of the monster's shirt, a multitude of yellow stars were painted against the pink fabric. (1200/900). "And my second shall be Ryu-Kishin Clown. Whoopie!" This new monster was a hideous, wrinkled skin, over weight clown in a stripped red and blue suit. (800/500)

Waving its arms, the Ryu-Kishin Clown formed a strange, purple, pulsing orb of light between its rather pointed, red gloved fingers. With a mighty grunt, it chucked the ball over towards its partner in the summoning, causing the beast to moan and bow down on its card.

"Ryu-Kishin Clown when summoned can switch one monsters mode, and my Dream Clown can help you take off a load!" Saggi cackled out, his playful demeanor showing as he jumped off the ground and clicked his heels together.

Falling to its knees on top of its own card hologram, the clown monster began to hum a sinister tune deep in its throat, causing a strange yellow and pink aura to form around it, drifting off slowly towards the set card on Chao's field. Reaching it, the strands of light began to wrap around it, crushing the card beneath a ton of invisible weight.

"Switching from attack to defense mode causes Dream Clown to destroy one monster on my field." Chao elaborated, just to make sure since Saggi's rhyming scheme of speaking wasn't always the clearest. Nodding, the clown began to laugh again.

"Indeed, indeed. Now look, here's just what I need!" Yanking out the next card from his hand, Saggi held it up to show a magic card titled 'No Clowning Around'. The image showed a very angry Saggi the Dark Clown, covered in a dark aura of rage. Its eyes' burning red as a large explosion was seen in the background. "Five hundred more life points this will cost me, but I will make a fair exchange for thee. Giving up my Dream Clown, I destroy one monster on your field whose mode is opposite then him. The future for your Gilasuarus looks pretty grim!"

Chao-4000 LP  
Saggi-2500 LP

Exploding, the Dream Clown went up in flames in an instant. Following suit, the brown raptor monster exploded, leaving nothing left on the field of it except a rising tower of smoke and ashes from where the beast once sat.

Standing up, Peten shifted from being in defense mode to taking an offensive stand as Saggi moved the card on his duel disk to a vertical position. Whipping his arm forward, the clown cackled out loud as he bellowed his attack. "Go my clowns! Paint him red like a town!"

Far to literal to what Saggi had ordered, the two clowns swiftly glided over to Chao, pulling out red coated paint brushes, stabbing them forward and into Chao's chest, causing him to go flying backwards off of his feet, now with two red pain splatters on the front of his shirt.

Chao-2700 LP  
Saggi-2500 LP

* * *

"My turn, draw!" Sachiko called out, releasing the top card off of her deck and adding it to her growing hand. Looking at it, she saw she had pulled her Polymerization card. This made her smile as she pulled out the card that was resting next to it, sliding it into her duel disk. "I activate my magic card; Migration Season. This card lets me add one beast, beast-warrior or winged beast monster in my deck to my hand." 

Fanning open her deck, she instantly grabbed one of the cards she saw and pulled it out, shuffling her deck before sliding it back into her duel disk and returning to the game as quickly as she could.

"I choose to add my Mystic Egg Beast (700/1300)." She said, flashing the yellow bordered monster card briefly before palming the card and sliding something out of her hand and sliding it into her duel disk. "I activate Polymerization! This card will fuse Mystic Egg Beast and Silver Fang (1200/800) from my hand into…"

A silver furred wolf and a strange floating egg monster appeared briefly before Sachiko before swirling away into a green vortex coming out of the Polymerization card hologram on her field. What shot out was the silver wolf monster with the second half of its body encased in a broken egg shell. Long wings sprouted out of its back, though curled up as the monster landed on the floor with its sharp clawed feet. (1900/2000)

"Chimera Egg Fang!" Throwing her arm forward, Sachiko announced her monster, gaining a howl in response from the powered up wolf monster. "Attack Faith Bird!"

Lunging forward, the chimera wolf sunk its fangs into the neck of the green bird, causing it to whip back, cracking it head against the ceiling. A few tiles fell to the ground as a result, but nothing seriously damaging to the room as the monster bird shattered into tiny data bits.

Sachiko-3900 LP  
Kaira-2200 LP

As the beast came back to Sachiko's field, she boasted a bit, enjoying her triumph and forgetting her pain in her head already.

"That is all I will do on my turn." She announced, causing Kaira to emotionlessly nod, drawing a new card from her deck.

Setting it face-down on her duel disk, the brown backed card appeared before her as she looked up at Sachiko again, her eyes still blank slates and her mouth in an emotionless stone cold lock.

"End."

* * *

"Draw!" Chao called out after having pulled himself back to his feet. Glaring at the card he drew, a plan began to form in his mind. "I play Graceful Charity, drawing 3 cards and then ditching two!" 

Yanking three cards from his deck, Chao glanced over their faces for a second before choosing two cards from his collected hand to send into his graveyard. Then swiftly, knowing exactly what he was doing, Chao pulled another card from his hand and slid it into his duel disk.

"Magic card; Premature Burial go! This card will cost me 800 of my life points, but I get to revive one monster from my grave to my side of the field."

Chao-1900 LP  
Saggi-2500 LP

Materializing on the field in a mighty roar, a large, blue skinned dragon with a blood red underbelly came into existence in a powerful way. Long, golden claws and three golden horns on the top of its head gave the beast a glinting light in the moons of this world. (2850/2350)

"Tri-Horned Dragon! One of the cards I discarded thanks to my Graceful Charity." Chao announced, his monster spreading its long, powerful legs apart. The claws on its feet digging into the soft earth below as the monster let out a massive roar that echoed through out the night sky. "Finish this! Tri-Laser Arrow! Destroy his Peten!"

Ripping its mighty jaw open, the dragonic beast sent out a blast of white light which formed a arrow head at the end of it. Racing across the gap between both duelists, the attack pierced right through the chest of the clown, causing it to explode instantly from the sudden rush of power being thrown at it.

Chao-1900 LP  
Saggi-150 LP

"I am not done! And another Peten shall come out for some fun." Saggi yelled out, still clinging to life barely. As he cried out, another Peten the Dark Clown formed before him, this one kneeling on its own card image, a smirk also dawning its white painted face.

"Nice try." Chao complimented to Saggi, holding up another card from his hand before sliding it into his duel disk. "But this is over. Instant magic card activate! Poison of the Old Man!"

"Oh no! No, no no!" Saggi sang out, though fear gripped its heart as it realized what was going on.

"This card can either increase my life points by 1200, or," a sinister gleam appeared in Chao's eyes as the card appeared before him in a holographic state. "I deal you 800 points of damage. It's obvious I'm going with the second one!"

Blasting from the card image, a purple beam of light engulfed Saggi and his two monsters on the field, whole, causing them all to scream out in pain. But the screaming soon turned into mad laughter, sending a chill down Chao's spin as he listened to them.

Chao-1900 LP  
Saggi-0 LP

Fading away, the dragon, the red splatters of paint, as well as the purple beam of light vanished without a trace thanks to the duel coming to an end. What surprised Chao the most though was that; after the light had settled, Saggi, nor his monsters, were anywhere to be seen any longer. They had been vaporized in the light it had seemed.

Sighing, Chao deactivated his duel disk, pulling all of his cards back into his deck and giving it a quick shuffle before returning it to his deck case at his hip. Turning, he started jogging towards the way Gurabe and Reku had taken off.

* * *

"Kaira, you are really creeping me out." Sachiko spoke aloud to her emotionless opponent as she drew her next card. _"Hopefully when I beat her things will go back to normal."_ Taking a look at the new card she had, a smile came over her face as she pushed it into her duel disk. _"Hopefully this will do it!"_

Appearing behind the egg wolf, a green bordered card appeared in a rush of lights. The image of the card showed a group of animals being surrounded by a strange purple mist, each of them having their eyes glowing bright, blood red.

"Enraged with Power gives my monster 1000 attack points!" Sachiko cried out as the massive, toxic colored smoke poured out of her magic card and into her monster, causing it to roar with power. (2900/2000) "Go! Attack her set defender!"

Barreling forward, the behemoth of a monster smashed into the set card, causing it to explode instantly, but revealing a stunning young woman in a red coat. Flicking her arm out, the woman launched a diamond from her hand, hitting Sachiko right in the shoulder.

Sachiko-3400 LP  
Kaira-0 LP

As her life points hit zero, Kaira's body gave out and she collapsed to the floor, laying there motionless for a long while, while everyone just stared at her. It was finally Sachiko who broke the silence.

"Princes of Tsurugi huh? That dealt me 500 points of damage because I had a magic card on my field. But, my magic card, Enraged with Power, gives my monster the ability to deal damage through defense. With only 700 defense points, she lost the rest of her life points in that attack."

"Well, its good that you won…but…" Akina looked at the peaceful body of Kaira that was laying on the floor opposite of them. The dark aura around her seemed to be seeping off, vanishing into the air of the room, making the tension thicker. "What's going to happen next?"

"I guess it depends if Kaira is going to keep doing that or not." Sachiko spoke slowly, pulling her cards out of the duel disk and shuffling them back into her deck. Without looking down, she opened that latch around her wrist and slid the now dormant device off of her wrist, handing it back to Akina.

"The evil aura around her is breaking." Hebanu spoke, walking over to the collapsed girl, sweeping her up into his arms before turning to the group. "I think she'll be fine, for a while anyways. She's probably exhausted."

* * *

Looking over his shoulder, the blue haired young man stared back at the large golden castle that stood behind him. He was standing out at the end of the walkway, where Kaira had been left by Kiro when he took off. 

Brushing some of the incredibly long hair out of his face, Yukio turned back to the rolling hills that lay outside the castle garden, stretching off for as far as they would allow visibility. It was such calm, soothing sight, so mysterious and magical feeling to one who had never seen anything like it before.

"I guess it's my turn to do my own thing." He spoke aloud to himself, sticking his hands in his pockets and walking forward out into the untamed wilderness that was stretching out before him in its endless beauty.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

Saggi the Dark Clown  
600/1500/3/Dark/Spellcaster  
_This clown appears from nowhere and executes very strange moves to avoid enemy attacks._

Chao: "This card doesn't do much really. It's a normal monster with only 600 attack points. But that doesn't mean it's completely useless. It does have 1500 defense points and the support of both dark and spellcaster type cards. Not much of a threat on its own, it sure runs an odd deck as a duel monster spirit."

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	36. If the Soul Exists

Episode 36: If the Soul Exists

The dank darkness curled around Ronin's floating body, soothing him in an ice like chill. Drifting slowly forward as if he was a boat in a still lake, moving only with the incredibly weak current, Ronin moved slowly through the emptiness.

He felt numb. He couldn't feel his fingers or toes. Arms or legs. All he knew was that he wasn't in pain.

As a more solid awareness began to grace him with its gentle fingers, Ronin managed to pry open his steel shutter like eye lids, gazing at the mass of darkness around him.

"Where am I?" He questioned, trying to move his head to the side to see. The massive weight that seemed to be pressuring him made moving difficult, but he managed to let his head come down to the side. Disappointment was all that awaited him as he saw nothing different to his side either. Just black. All black.

Gaining enough ambition, Ronin swirled over so he was no longer floating on his back, staring down at the mono-visual sight that seemed to be all around him. Pushing back, he managed to gain balance and float upright as if he was standing in this void of space.

"Let's see…" Ronin's somewhat blank eyes closed their shades while his memory drifted back to his most recent memory at the top of the stack of memories in his brain.

His hand slowly lifted, pressing against the side of his head while his fingers fell across his forehead, a bit of pain gripping his facial features as he tried to think.

"Freyr beat me in that duel…" He realized, slowly opening his eyes to gaze back out at the endless void of space that he was floating in. "Badly."

Pushing off with his legs, Ronin found he could slowly propel himself forward in the abyss he seemed to be in. Looking around, he tried to see if there was some sort of exit for him to escape his imprisonment in the darkness.

As he moved, something form the distance caught his ear, turning him slightly to his left to look for whatever he was hearing. A low, grumbling noise, like heavy breathing of a big monster could be heard echoing through the void. Ronin, more curious than afraid, began to drift towards the sound, trying to find out what it was.

Swimming in his motionless movement, Ronin moved towards the sound, causing what appeared to be an illusion before him to fade away with a ripple of the space around him. What he saw now resting against the 'floor' of the void was a long, light blue sea serpent monster. His own Levia-Dragon – Daedalus.

Around the monsters body, tying the beast up to an invisible ground, were long winding chains of ice, twisting their bindings around the monsters body. Squirming to free itself, the monster efforts were in vein as the grip of iron and ice was too strong for it.

Looking over, its two red eyes spotted Ronin floating there, staring at it. Twisting its head around, Daedalus gazed upon its master with all four of its prideful, yet defeated, eyes.

Around the beasts head, clamping its mouth shut was another ice-formed chain. Twisting around its face several times before wrapping around the base of its head and neck, then shooting down into the abyss. This made the monster incapable of doing much more than groan and grunt.

Its breath was staggered, ridged and heavy as the beast breath in and out in huge huffs. It obviously had been struggling for a while to free itself, tiring itself out in the hopeless effort.

"I turn out to be a very sick person." A voice came from the void, causing Ronin to look around for a second before coming back to the bound up monster before him. Now, sitting upon the dark blue crown of the monster, a younger version of Ronin was perched, staring down at its hovering, older self. "If I would have known I was going to turn into a bastard like I do, I probably would have jumped off a bridge or something."

"Who are you to talk?" Ronin growled, looking up at the shaggy haired young boy.

"Who do you think I am?" The boy asked back, his tone turning angry. Reaching down, he pulled up on the chain that bound the sea serpents head. "I can tell you one thing; I am not one who _ever_ though I'd bind up my partner and best friend like this."

"So you are accusing me of doing it? I did nothing to Daedalus!" Ronin whipped his arm angrily through the air, causing the younger Ronin to begin laughing at his elder self.

"How is it you can deny what you see before you? Maybe your eyes are fading in your older age. Come on, look here," the young boy pointed downwards to the monsters face, "tell me what you see."

"I see Daedalus tied up."

"With what?"

"Chains."

"Of?"

Ronin stopped for a second, cocking his eyebrow at the boy for a second before answering the final question. "Ice. What is playing 20 questions going to do for us?"

"A lot if you were even half as smart as I am. Figure it out." The young boy began rubbing his hand across the top of the sea dragon's head, like a person would do petting a cat. "He was our best friend, our partner, our ally."

Looking down for a second, the young boy sighed, closing his eyes as a deep frown pulled at his lips.

"Our strength." Looking up, hate filtered into the young boys eyes, glaring at his elder mirror image that hadn't moved since he arrived at the scene. "And what did you do. You bound him up with your chains of ice as your heart became cold and unwelcoming. This is your doing. Yours and your new 'friend', that dragon of yours."

"I didn't do this." Ronin continued to protest, gritting his teeth in frustration of arguing with a little kid.

"Why did you sell out Daedalus for power?" The boy asked, his hand still petting the giant lizard, causing the beast to relax some as it was getting attention from one who cared about it. Closing its eyes, it slowly lowered its head to the non-existent ground in a blissful state.

"I did what I had to do to be able to move on in life." Ronin spoke after the dragon had finished moving to its new position.

"So then you admit it!" The young Ronin stood up finally, pointing an accusing finger at his older self.

"No, I didn't do this." Ronin whipped his arm forward to Daedalus that lay before him as the pedestal of the person he was arguing with. "I still treasure and use Daedalus in my deck. But I had to gain more power to be able to finally be strong." Letting his arm fall, Ronin's head bowed slightly. "I am not proud of everything I've been forced to do. All the choices I've made may not be politically correct to most people. But they are the path I was made to walk down."

"I'm not sure weather to be enraged, or sick to my stomach." Child Ronin shook his head in disgust, his right hand up against his forehead as his eyes were closed. "Every word you…I…say is just sordid."

* * *

Blasting up over a hill, Kiro's gem like eyes locked onto the flying vampire again. One of the few times in his life he actually wished that looks could kill, as Dementia would have been dead thousands of times over already. 

Connecting with the ground again, Kiro continued to run after Dementia with his inhuman speed. Dipping through the valley the hills created, he eventually went racing up the side of another hill, popping up on top of it. Sliding to a stop, he surveyed the skies to make sure he knew where he was going.

Gaining his bearings, he watched as the purple skinned vampire headed down against a strange rock formation a good distance away yet. Building out into a much bigger mountain, the rock formation was seemed like a good check point to lead him to if that was to be where she wanted him to go.

"Fine, I'll get you no matter where you are." He growled, crouching down again and blasting off in a massive blur of color, racing across the odd fields to the rock formation.

* * *

Joe and Kevin stood over the sleeping Kaira, watching her breath slowly in and out. Crossing his arms, Joe stood straight up again, looking back over at the three women and two demons along the doorway of the room. 

"She's alright though?" He asked, getting a nod from Order.

"She should be fine. Just the vampire part of her took over on Dementia's wishes we think." Order continued, walking over to the two boys who were now just staring at her while she spoke. "She is exhausted from such a rush of power she's not even close to used to yet."

"And the dark aura that surrounded her faded away once Sachiko won." Hebanu continued, speaking from his place leaning against the wall with Heruru who looked pissed as always. "So hopefully when she wakes up again, she'll be back to her old self." Bowing his head, his eyes darted across the wooden floor. "Hopefully."

"This is just the last thing we need right now." Joe glanced over his shoulder at the woman laying there. "We already have one rouge person from our side, we don't need another one."

The comment made Akina wipe away a tear that was forming at the base of her left eye.

"_Reku, what happened to you? Where are you?"_ Squeezing her hands into a tight balled fist, Akina's eyes fell shut, picturing the man she loved inside her mind. _"I need you Reku. Come back to me."_

* * *

Thrusting his finger forward, the child of Ronin pointed accusingly at the man standing directly before him and the grounded Daedalus. "It's scum like you that fills the human world with such trash!" 

"For wanting to point out my own 'problems'," Ronin quoted himself with his fingers as he spoke, glaring back up at his younger self, "you sure seem to have no problem with pointing fingers and calling names."

"I'm only telling the truth." The child Ronin waved his arm before him, palm open so that he could motion to the grounded beast beneath him. "The proof is right here."

"For the last time: I did _not_ do that!" Ronin was about screaming as he spoke, swinging his tight balled fists down to his side.

"Do you wanna bet?" The child Ronin waved his arm out to the side; a massive ripple in space appeared next to him, spreading out until it was a large, rectangular shaped box hovering in the void. "Here is how it started, do you remember this?"

Ronin watched in silence as the ripple in space turned into a 'T.V. set', displaying a wide image for Ronin to view. What he saw on the screen was a younger version of himself, and even the more childish Ronin that stood atop his Daedalus. Him and a younger version of Reku stood on a sidewalk outside of a large glass window leading to a very familiar gaming store of their past,

"_No, what means something is that I didn't just lose to that dragon monster." _The Ronin on the screen spoke, looking sadly at the young Reku next to him,_ "but the fact that I lost to a team. The duelist and his partner monster. I think I need to find myself a partner to be able to truly be strong." _

"_Maybe." _A grin came from the young Reku, slapping Ronin's pocket with his hand. _"You have a whole pack of unopened cards sitting right there. You never know what you might pull! Go on, give it a shot. I'm sure fate is looking down on you now." _

"_O...kay…" _Pulling the pack of cards out of his pocket, the Ronin on the screen proceeded to break the seal on them, pulling out the treasure that lay inside. Shuffling through the cards one at a time, the on-screen Ronin didn't look very impressed until he came to the bottom card in the stack. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped for a second, a sparkle of life as such a rare card was handed to him. Finding words, he finally spoke; "_Levia-Dragon – Daedalus…"_

The screen flickered for a second, turning pure white before tuning into another channel of the past. This one was not but the next local shop tournament a short time later. Ronin sat at the finals, his new deck and his renewed faith in dueling backing him, along with a powerful hand from his new partner.

"_And Daedalus attacks you for the win!"_ The on-screen Ronin declared, smirking widely as his opponent dropped his head in defeat. His victory was sealed with that move, and the card shop tournament was won by him.

"All because of that random kid with his Curse of Dragon." The child Ronin commented after the screen want back to static, looking down at the floating Ronin before him. "This monster right here" pointing down again to the chained up Daedalus as he spoke to emphasize his point, "served you well. As soon as you got it, you knew it was a vastly rare card, and a powerful one. But one that pulled you out of a ditch. If it wasn't for that kid and his Curse of Dragon, his one and only partner, you probably wouldn't have tried as hard as you did to love your Daedalus. You wouldn't have been open, and trusted it with your dueling life. It showed nothing but respect to you for it, and look at what you did."

"I didn't…"

"Oh be quiet!" The young Ronin interrupted the older one just as he began to speak. "We've only just begun to prove who is right here!"

* * *

Stopping on a dime, Kiro's spine-like green hair was the only thing besides his body that didn't try to continue traveling after wards. Glaring inside the long, deep cave, Kiro's gem-like eyes instantly spotted the giant red demon standing in the back, the Egyptian demon sitting against the wall and looking a little torn, and the human servant of them leaning against the other wall, also staring at Kiro. 

"Where is she?!" Kiro demanded, tanking, throwing all of his fear in his voice as he screamed into the cave.

"Where is who?" Freyr smirked a bit, pleased to see Kiro had actually arrived.

"That bitch Dementia." Kiro growled, taking a step forward. "Where is…" His foot collided with something at the entrance of the cave, causing him to stop, his head jerking downwards momentarily to see a unconscious body laying just inside the entrance to the cave. It was Ronin, as Kiro recognized him from when they met while he was dueling Reku. "And what happened to him?" Kiro questioned, looking back up at the demons and human before him.

"Oh him." Freyr waved it off, pulling his smile into an even more twisted and sinister grin. "He lost the ancient game. He's not dead, per say."

"Then what is he?" Again, Kiro kept hammering with the questions, making Thoth growl a bit with the disrespect the newcomer was showing.

"Now, now Thoth." Freyr waved his arm towards the sitting demon, making him calm down by order. "This is a very important person we have standing before us. Do not run him off with your tough guy act." Moving his attention back to Kiro, Freyr continued to speak. "To your question, he's merely drained of all of his energy. And exhaustion coma if you will. His body is already building up some energy again. He'll wake up soon, tired, but perfectly fine. If he lives through his nap that is."

"Very handy way to immobilize an enemy." Kiro observed, stepping over the body and flexing his claws as he protected the human. "But you have to deal with me first. And I have a goal already in mind. Now tell me where the hell Dementia is!"

"I sent her to go get you and bring you here. She even bragged that she could get you to come here on your own free will without her laying a hand on you. I see you are not injured in any way, so she will be rewarded for her good deed." Freyr started to walk forward, closing the already small gap between him and Kiro.

"She didn't touch me." Kiro confirmed, holding his ground even though the giant behemoth was coming closer. "But she did touch one of my close friends. And for that, I will kill her."

"_THAT_ is why you can't trust vampires." Thoth threw in, a bit pleased that someone would back up his point. "They are nothing but tricksters, liars and deceivers."

"Maybe so, but she got me what I wanted." Freyr replied to his servant without ever taking his three burning eyes off of Kiro, glued to him like a high powered magnet with metal. "I need to talk to you. I need something from you. I need something confirmed."

* * *

Rubbing his side slightly, the older Ronin still floated in the abyss, staring up at his younger self. A silence fell between them, only broken by the crackling static of the TV.-like ripple in space and the heavy breathing of the chained beast that lay beneath the younger Ronin. 

"So?" The elder Ronin finally spoke, a slight smirk pulling onto his face with the silence. "Are you struggling to pull up some excuse to pin this whole thing on me? This'd prove right away that you know it's not my fault, and you didn't properly think out a good story to make it look that way. Wow, as a child I must have never really used my brain."

"I'd take that last sentence and mirror it back to you." The younger Ronin retaliated, pointing to the screen again. "I was giving you a chance to think about what you saw, but obviously you need it spelled out for you for you to see the truth. Here you go."

A flash of white blinded the screen, coming back into focus on another image from Ronin's past. This one in the not to distance past, showing him sitting alone in a dark ally, staring at fanned out cards before him.

"_I can become powerful with these."_ The onscreen Ronin looked up, gazing into the cold brick of the opposite wall. His voice filled with a bit of malice as he spoke through smirking lips. _"I can show everyone. I don't need Reku or anyone else. I can be the most increasable force anyone has ever seen!"_ Looking back down at the cards he held, he squeezed his hand around them, folding them back up into a stack. _"And I can do it on my own terms."_

"That'd be a good starting point." The younger Ronin spoke, motioning towards the scene. "You abandoned all you had worked for, for easy, hand-me-down power. It doesn't help any that the cards Tal handed you were ice cards. Saying that, you basically formed the chains that now bind Daedalus.

"You called him weak and unneeded basically in that sentence. He isn't strong, you found stronger. The method you two always worked under wasn't the right way; you have you own way of doing it now."

"So you need to twist my words to prove your point?" The elder Ronin spoke, calmly, but forcefully as he punched out with his word to counter the younger Ronin's argument.

"Nope, there is no word twisting." The younger Ronin pointed back to the screen as he spoke. "I'm just saying what your heart was at the time. And here;"

The image washed over in a white light before coming back into view in a night view of a sidewalk. Ronin stood beneath a large, floating, sapphire colored Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon. His opponent, Ryokurio, lay face-down on the sidewalk in defeat. A cold laugh came from the on screen Ronin's lips, drunk with power.

Flickering for a second, the image changed. This one showed him standing across from Sachiko, who lay on her back from a devastating attack by the Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon. Turning to his side, the on screen version of himself growled slightly as he spoke.

"_Sachiko, you are just as pathetic as always._ _I had such high hopes for you to. So long ago I felt our souls were like a jigsaw puzzle, fitting perfectly together to make a whole. But you had to go and destroy that, cutting out a chunk of my soul and leaving me to die alone."_ Jerking up his arm, the active duel disk went into standby mode.

"_Ronin…"_ She shook slightly while she spoke, feeling a wave of uneasiness and guilt. _"I didn't leave you to die alone. I am sorry if you feel that it was that way."_

"_Save it!"_ The onscreen Ronin snapped, shutting Sachiko up instantly. _"I am in no mood for your lies anymore!"_

"How could you say that with a warm heart?" The younger Ronin asked, causing the older one to shift his attention back to him, and the large dragon below. "She was the nicest person we've ever known. Soft and gentle, and you really believe she would want you to die, even now?"

"You are right." Ronin nodded, pointing to the screen, which had frozen once the conversation had picked back up. "She _was_ the kindest person I knew. She grew out of that, just like I grew. I still see no proof here."

"You are blind!" The young Ronin stomped his foot in frustration, causing the dragon to open its four blood red eyes, growling slightly at the elder Ronin for angering its master. "Then answer this one. What kind of friend goes after his own best friend, with the intent to drown him? To rise above him and to eliminate his shadow from not only around you, but the Earth as a whole."

The ripple in space became sporadic, jerking wildly before it came back into a sensible shape, forming the next images.

Ronin and Reku stood across from one another in the shrine where they faced off. The first to move was Ronin, who was in the middle of sliding a card into his duel disk. He began to speak, his voice loud, and filled with a sense of purpose, pose. Like a warrior, hardened by battle. Knowing he might not come home alive.

_"This decides everything; the loser won't have enough energy left to breath. It is time to drowned one of us in the river of destiny. Magic card activate: Chaotic Waters of Life and Death!"_

With a blast of energy, the card came into full form before Ronin. Glowing with a bright yellow light, the cards effect took into action, causing the on screen Ronin's graveyard to eject the stack of cards that rested in it. Snapping the top card off, he held it up high above his head for Reku to see.

"_I chose my Levia-Dragon – Daedalus."_

A stale, transparent image of the blue sea serpent came floating out of the card held above that Ronin's head, drifting down until it became a solid streak of azure colored light blasting into the back of the brown backed card on his field. A blue aura blasted up around the magic cards, as electrical bolts zapped all across the face of it.

"_This infuses my Chaotic Waters of Life and Death with 2600 points. Now I select three cards from my deck and you will chose one of them. Depending on what you chose will determine the outcome of this game."_ Pulling out his deck of its slot as he spoke, the on screen Ronin fanned it open, looking for three cards to use.

"_If it's the monster card we will both lose this duel."_ Reku began, watching as his opponent slapped down three cards onto his duel disk, they appeared vertically before him with a blast of light. _"But if I chose a magic card, you lose. Likewise, if it's the trap card that I pick, I will be the one to lose."_

"_You are right Reku."_ That Ronin nodded, confirming that Reku indeed knew the effect of his card. _"So now is the time. Chose."_

"_Very well."_ Reku nodded, looking at the three holographic images.

Lifting his arm slowly, Reku snapped it out towards the card of his choice. Looking up, Reku and Ronin locked eyes, glaring a blaze of emotions between the two of them. This duel had changed each of them from the first card played all the way down to this choice. And now was the moment of truth.

"_I chose the card in the middle Ronin. Show me what our fate is!"_

A crack of lightning flashed through the dark clouds, illuminating both of their faces with the pure white energy. Within that moment, the soft patter of the rain crashing into the wooden roof of the shrine could be heard, as well as the soft splashes on the lake outside the open wall.

The set card Reku had chosen began to lift upwards, revealing its face to the world.

Even though he knew the outcome already, the elder Ronin held his breath at the situation. The card slowly creaked open like an old, rusted door being pushed by a slight wind. The painfulness of the situation flooded back into him, not knowing the outcome until it was fully upright.

"_Here is what you picked Reku."_ The onscreen Ronin spoke, the card finally coming into view. _"Ice Slick. This card, typically, would change all face-up monsters on your side of the field into defense mode when you summon a monster in any form. But for right now, it marks the end of this long duel. You chose my trap card."_

A blast of holographic water came racing out of the green card hologram making a B-line straight for Reku. Swallowing him whole in the tidal wave, the duel disk on his arm began to beep loudly as it shot down to zero due to the effect of the magic card.

Laughing slightly, the elder Ronin looked back from the screen to the younger version of himself standing atop the dragon. Pointing his index finger outward, magnetically attracted to the screen, he began to speak.

"You see. Reku became so much stronger than me. I let fate decide how that would turn out, and as you can see," clenching his outstretched hand into a fist, Ronin retracted it to his chest, speaking proudly as he did, "fate took my side."

"Believe it how you want." The younger Ronin walked forward, bounding off of the navy blue crown of the Daedalus, floating softly down to Ronin's level as the abyss caught him with its invisible hands. "And I believe that we'll let your own cards judge you. The monsters that you worked together with so long that you just up and abandoned."

Yanking his arm forward, the younger Ronin extended his hand, palm facing outwards, towards Ronin.

"What are you do…" Ronin was stopped mid-sentence as his duel disk strapped on his right arm began to move, pulling upwards until it was high over his head, leaving his body to dangle below it.

His deck began to glow in a radiant light, blasting out streams of energy that wove their way around the abyss. Swirling into a twister, the beams of light seemed to surround the two Ronin's and the large dragon, trapping them in this swirling light.

"I believe it is time for the judgment." The younger Ronin said, letting his hand come down which released whatever hold he had on Ronin's duel disk. Dropping down with a massive pull of gravity, Ronin noticed very quickly that his deck was gone from the deck tray, leaving it completely bare.

* * *

"So explain to me this." Freyr began, stopping and staring at the green haired demon before him. "How is it that you can have the soul of both a human and a demon, and still keep yourself from basically imploding?" 

"I'm special." Kiro replied, flexing his claws just in case Freyr were to try and attack him.

"You are indeed. Kiro Rinku, heir to the Rinku clan and guardian of the three spirits of protection. Kooru, Hebanu and Heruru."

"You've done your research." Kiro growled, smirking a bit in mock pleasure of how knowledgeable Freyr actually was. "But what is the point of all this if you already know things like that about me?"

"You were human to start with, correct?" Freyr continued, completely ignoring Kiro's last comment and continuing on with his interrogation. "But the demons that inhabited your body infused it with demonic aura. Somehow though, it got past your barriers and into your own soul, infecting you, making you a demon. How?"

"What do you mean how, it just happened!" Kiro was starting to grow annoyed at being ignored slightly by the massive red beast. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that by mere chance, something could finally get past and get in."

"You're life was in danger, wasn't it?" Freyr continued, once again cutting Kiro short. "You were about to die, so you body resorted to a last ditch effort to save yourself, and you did, but at the cost of your humanity." Chuckling, Freyr turned away from Kiro, looking back at the crystals at the rear of the cave and showing the massively deep scars still cut into his back. "Usually demonic aura just latches onto anger and amplifies it."

"So what?" Kiro snarled, baring his set of pearly white fangs from under his top lip. "What good is this doing us? What the hell do you want from me?"

"I want answers from you Kiro." Freyr took noticed of Kiro's frustration, turning a serious gaze upon the young demon. "You and I aren't so different. So there for we both want answers to questions."

"All I want right now is to know where that damn vampire is so I can rip her to shreds." Kiro growled, a blood red aura forming around his body, spiraling upwards into the air above the cave in an attempt to bolster his status in the situation. "So tell me where the hell she is!"

"Don't you dare demand of Lord Freyr!" Thoth bellowed, standing up with a jolt, threatening to attack the younger demon. He was stopped only by a raised hand from Freyr.

"That's enough Thoth."

"But sire, he's showing no respect to you. Even as a demon he's got no more sense than a filthy human." Taking a quick glance at Tal, Thoth smirked a little bit. "Though there is one who is smarter than his breed, but still is nothing more than human."

"That doesn't matter to me." Freyr interrupted before his servant could continue with his lecture. "Not in the end."

* * *

Tugging at his hair, Joe scooted back in the large, golden chair, screaming at the ceiling high above. 

"I can't take not knowing what is going on!" Standing up, Joe looked around the small group around him, watching him since his little outburst. "It's been far too quiet. What the hell are Freyr and his goon squad planning?"

"You actually want them to come back?" Kevin sighed at Joe's remark. "I wouldn't mind getting a little break."

"But while we wait, we can't let our guard down." Ryokurio countered Kevin, looking back at Joe. "If we do, they could easily do away with us. We have to stay on top of our game to make sure we aren't walked over. So I understand your frustration Joe, just don't lose your top. Anger will blind you."

"Your right." Joe took a deep breath before sliding back down into the chair. "I just don't like the fact that I don't know anything that is happening. Nothing has happened here for a long time now."

Usami breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Joe wasn't going to go into a fit of rage now. Looking back, she stared out of the large hole in the wall, looking over the hills that were their bathed in the light of the moons.

"Guys, it's late." Usami spoke, turning back to the three of them. "Let's get some sleep. There is nothing we can do for now."

"She's got a point. We'll just be easy targets if we are worn out." Kevin agreed, getting a nod from Ryokurio as well.

"I'm far to wired to go to sleep right now." Joe threw in, looking at the group. "I could stay up and be a watch guard for a while. That way you guys could get some rest in peace knowing you won't be attacked while you sleep."

"That's a good plan." Ryokurio agreed. "Aright then, lets turn in for the night."

* * *

Chao breached the crown of the hill, instantly spotting Gurabe and Reku against a tree in the distance for a bit of rest. Pleased he had located them, Chao took off in a sprint towards them, dipping down in the valleys and popping back up over the hills. 

"About time you caught up human." Gurabe called out once Chao came into view for the final time, approaching the tree. Laughing a bit, Chao nodded.

"Yeah, sorry. That clown was more of a pain than I thought he would be. Kind of an odd tactic." Looking back over his shoulder once he stopped, he made sure nothing was behind him. "Never seen anyone running a clown deck before."

"Clown deck?" Reku looked up from his place on the ground, bringing the silver haired man's attention downward towards him. "I didn't think such a thing was possible. I mean there are a few theme oriented cards, but as a whole I didn't think too much of them."

"Me either." Chao nodded, smirking a bit. "But I guess anything is possible right."

"Any serious duelist would be too humiliated to be running a deck type like that and hope to be taken seriously." Gurabe threw in, crossing his arms over his body as he leaned back against the bark of the tree. "Though, they aren't exactly cute and fluffy, there is still something about it that is difficult to piece together."

"That type of deck would take good planning and good timing." Chao said, nodding to what Gurabe had to say as well. Changing the subject, he brought his head back down to Reku who looked up at him quizzically for the serious look that now dawned his face. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Reku admitted, rubbing his back as he spoke, being reminded of the pain. "I don't think there is anything seriously wrong with me. Just had the wind knocked out of me was all."

"Seems really high powered duels in this world are a lot more deadly." Chao realized, getting a 'no duh' look from both Gurabe and Reku.

"You have no idea." Reku answered, holding up his duel disk as he remembered dueling here in the past. "Fireworks can definitely fly in this realm. You know that castle that Order stays in?" Chao nodded as an answer. "It had to be rebuilt. I dueled Chaos in the basement of that building and completely destroyed the whole place with a devastating attack."

"Wow." Chao's eyes were wide, thinking of how big the castle was. "But then again, you have to remember. This is the first time I've ever been in this world. Not the first time I've seen some crazy stuff, but the first time I've been here."

"True." Reku agreed with Chao, not having forgotten that little fact about the newcomer helper.

"And after this, you'll never want to see this place again, I am sure." Gurabe threw in.

In silent agreement, Chao, as well as Reku, accepted what Gurabe said to be fact.

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Levia-Dragon – Daedalus**  
2600/1500/7/Water/Sea Serpent  
By sending "Umi" on your side of the field to the Graveyard, destroy all cards on the field except this card.

Ronin: "The most powerful of the sea serpent family line, and a devastating tool for any and all forms of water decks. This card, by simply sending a field spell to the graveyard, cleans everything off of the field sans itself. And with a 2600 point offensive base, this card can take a bit out of your life points, which always hurts. This card is powerful to me though for more reason than that, I have no clue where this kid came up with the whole 'I don't like him anymore' spiel."

A/N: Well gang, to all that are still out there reading my work, I'm here to inform you to not expect me to be updating for a couple of weeks. I'm going on vacation, and thus, I'm not going to be where I can write. But don't fret, I'll be back with new updates real soon. Keep your eyes open for me. See ya, and have a nice day!

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	37. Heart of Ice and Blood of Water

Episode 37: Heart of Ice and Blood of Water

"Believe it how you want." The younger Ronin walked forward, bounding off of the navy blue crown of the constricted Daedalus, floating softly down to Ronin's level as the abyss caught him with its invisible hands. "And I believe that we'll let your own cards judge you. The monsters that you worked together with so long that you just up and abandoned."

Yanking his arm forward, the younger Ronin extended his hand, palm facing outwards, towards Ronin.

"What are you do…" Ronin was stopped mid-sentence as his duel disk strapped on his right arm began to move, pulling upwards until it was high over his head, leaving his body to dangle below it.

His deck began to glow in a radiant light, blasting out streams of energy that wove their way around the abyss. Swirling into a twister, the beams of light seemed to surround the two Ronin's and the large dragon, trapping them in this swirling light.

"I believe it is time for the judgment." The younger Ronin said, letting his hand come down which released whatever hold he had on Ronin's duel disk. Dropping down with a massive pull of gravity, Ronin noticed very quickly that his deck was gone from the deck tray, leaving it completely bare.

"My deck?!" Ronin cried out, looking up at the swirling lights. "What the hell is going on?"

"Judgment." The younger Ronin spoke, snapping his left arm forward. As he did, a huge chunk of the spiraling lights shot towards him, wrapping themselves around his arm. When the light dimmed, a emerald green duel disk, matching Ronin's exactly, had materialized, a large brown stack of cards resting in the deck slot.

The remaining lights began to converge in one spot before blasting down into the elder Ronin's duel disk, causing the device to glow for a second before cutting off the illumination. Resting in the duel disk again was a stack of brown backed Duel Monsters cards.

"We shall see just how much you treasure your cards." The younger Ronin declared, whipping his right arm before him, moving it over his active duel disk as he did. Once past, he revealed he had plucked five cards from their resting spot on the deck. "Let the judgment begin!"

"We are going to duel?" Ronin cocked an eyebrow at the boy, getting a nod from him in return. Taking his shock and putting it back into his anger, Ronin agreed, pulling his opening hand off of his deck. "Fine! Duel!"

Kiro cracked each of the joints in his hand, flexing it in an attempt to show off some power. A red aura drifting off of each finger, twirling up into the air like smoke off of a fire. Freyr just smirked a bit, while Thoth grew a bit annoyed at the younger demon trying to show off.

"Just tell me where the hell Dementia is." He demanded again, throwing knife like orders through each word.

"You are just going to keep rambling on and on about that aren't you?" Freyr shook his head, looking at Kiro with a bit of disdain in his three eyes. "Fine, maybe you and I can reach a deal."

Ronin-4000 LP  
Young Ronin-4000 LP

"I start!" Ronin yelled out, pulling the top card off of his deck, and for the first time, looking at his starting hand. Instantly his eyes grew big and he looked up at his opponent. "Wait, I didn't have some of these cards in my deck, what the hell are you pulling?"

"Nothing." Young Ronin shrugged, calmly explaining himself. "There had to be something put into your deck to replace what I took out to create mine. Don't worry; this isn't like your deck either." The child Ronin held up his duel disk, emphasizing his deck. "It's modified as well. It shall make for fair and sound judgment."

"Fine." Ronin glared at the young boy, moving his attention back down to his deck. "Not like I care anyways." Yanking out a card from his hand he slapped it down on the duel disk before him horizontally. "I summon Freezing Beast (1500/1000) in defense mode to start with."

From the abyss before him, a large chunk of ice began to grow in the air, taking form into a four legged monster made of solid ice. Landing on the 'floor' the monster formed a card beneath it. The ridged spikes of frozen water that shot up from its body made a porcupine like defense for it.

"And I'll set one card, finishing my move." Ronin called out, sliding a card from his hand into his duel disk.

"Draw!" The younger Ronin slid the top card off of his deck with vigor, instantly slapping it onto his duel disk. "I summon Hydrogeddon (1600/1000) in attack mode to start with."

What appeared before the younger Ronin was a large, brown beast made of some kind of un-solid material, taking the form of some strange, four legged beast. Opening its form of a mouth, the beast let out a massive bellow to show its power, making its own body jiggle with the power.

"Quick-play magic card go!" The younger Ronin slid another card into his duel disk, watching the card form in a display of lights before him. "Quick Summon allows me to also summon on my turn; Oxygeddon (1800/800)!"

Coming into existence next to the brown beast, a large, pterodactyl like monster appeared made of solid, visible, teal colored wind. Screeching, the monster also made its un-solidified body ripple a bit with its might.

"No way." Ronin's eyes grew wide as he saw the deadly duo of monsters that stood before him on his opponent's field.

"Hydrogeddon attack! Destroy his Freezing Beast now!" Bellowing out his command, the younger Ronin thrust his arm forward, pointing to the frozen monster resting on its own card image.

After inhaling a deep breath, the monster erupted outwards with a spray of hydrogen, consuming the ice sculpture beast whole before causing its data to shatter like glass.

"And due to his special effect, I get to pull another Hydrogeddon from my deck and special summon it on the field." The younger Ronin declared, pulling out his own deck and fanning it open. Grabbing a copy of the card from his deck, he slapped it down on his duel disk, forming the image of another four legged, brown gas bodied beast. "And since you have no monster, Oxygeddon, Hydrogeddon, attack him directly!"

Both monsters sent their attacks racing from their maws, hurdling across the field with a mighty battle cry being roared out by the two monsters. Spiraling together, the attacks formed a drill ready to slice through Ronin and his life points.

"No!" Ronin cried out, jerking his hand towards his set card. "I don't think so. Trap card open! Reflection Pool - Ice Barrier." The abyss around Ronin changed for a second, showing him standing on a pool of solid ice. From in front of him, a large pillar of ice shot out of the lake, creating a wall in which the attacks slammed into, bouncing off without even leaving a scratch. "When a monster is destroyed, this card negates all battle damage to me and my monsters, if I had any, for the rest of this turn. Also," Ronin held up his duel disk, watching as the Freezing Beast was ejected from his graveyard slot before he picked it up. "By removing the destroyed monster, the owner, me, is allowed to summon another monster of equal or less attack strength from my deck."

The lake began to shimmer, shattering into tiny data bits that floated around Ronin for a second before they collided together to form a large, ice carved behemoth, crouching down on its own card image. Human shaped, the gargoyle of ice crossed its bulky arms over its huge torso, creating a defensive wall for itself. (0/3000)

"And I chose my Ice-Rock Golem." He spoke, shuffling the deck where he had just pulled the card from, sliding it back into his duel disk. "Defense mode."

"Alright." The child-like Ronin nodded, pulling another card from his diminishing hand before sliding it into his duel disk. "Magic card; Bonding – H2O activate!" Vanishing in a swirl of lights, young Ronin's three monsters became a massive swirling vortex of teal and brown, slowly mixing together to form a aqua blue color. "By sacrificing two Hydrogeddon's and an Oxygeddon I can summon from my deck…"

The vortex erupted with a massive force, revealing a large, serpent like dragon on the young Ronin's field, roaring with its might as it appeared. Towering high over the field, the monster, made completely out of water, swirled around its master, glaring with blood red eyes at its opponents. (2800/2600)

"Water Dragon!" Sticking his reshuffled deck back into his deck slot, the young Ronin smirked a bit. "And I end my turn with that move."

* * *

Dementia smiled to herself, thinking of her own accomplishments. She knew she struck a very sensitive cord with the green haired demon boy that hurt her. Chuckling, she looked down at the world below, giving herself ample time so that Kiro didn't end up getting his claws on, or in, her. 

"And what do we have here?" She spoke, watching a small dot off in the distance moving through the hills that cluttered the landscape.

Taking off at a high speed, Dementia flew down through the air, racing towards the approaching target.

Yukio looked up just in time to pull his head down as Dementia went buzzing overhead. Flipping around, Yukio stared up at the purple skinned vampire that was now hovering in the air before him.

"So the little traitor comes out." Dementia gazed over her prey with a hungry look gleaming in her eye.

"Traitor? Can I really have betrayed you if I was never really on your side?" Yukio shot back, watching the vampire laugh a bit at the comeback. "What's so funny?"

"Darling, you are. You'd have been smart to stay on Freyr's side rather than try to go against him. Don't you see who the true victor in this war is going to be?"

"Does it look like I care?" Yukio, refusing to take his eyes off of the monster before him, began to back up. "I am just looking for a way out of here so I can go home. I no longer care what the hell you guys do."

* * *

"Then I draw." Ronin cried out, snapping the top card off of his deck and adding it to his hand. Narrowing his eyes, he glared at the younger him and the huge snake of water coiled around him. _"Having the ability to summon Water Dragon in one turn. That was a god-like opening hand he must have had. But no matter, I'll shut this kid up regardless of what he plays."_ Cranking his head upwards, he smiled at the back of his large, behemoth monster crouching before him. _"Ice-Rock Golem can't be destroyed in battle, which isn't much of a problem anyways, seeing as its 3000 defense points strong!"_

Moving his eyes to his cards, he looked back up, the gears cranking in his head as to what his next plan was going to be.

"I end my turn without doing anything."

"You are having trouble with Water Dragon?" The younger Ronin began to laugh, pointing accusingly at the older version of himself. "Honestly, Water Dragon is nothing more than a mere test. If you can't get past it, how can you face what else this deck has?"

"I'm just getting warmed up." Ronin growled, watching his younger self pull his hand back to his deck, placing it on the top card. "You just worry about your own plays."

"I shall then." The young Ronin smirked, yanking the top card off of his deck with a powerful jerk. "Draw!"

Flicking the cards between his fingers gracefully for a second, the younger Ronin slid the card into his duel disk, watching the image appeared before him. "I activate Overflowing Hydration. I can only use this card when I have a level five or higher water monster on my field. From my deck I special summon one level three or lower water monster." Fanning open his deck, the young Ronin pulled out a card he found near the bottom, instantly slapping it down onto his duel tray. "I chose my Furious Sea King!"

A slimy skinned fish monster appeared before the younger Ronin. Swinging it through the air, the monster boasted his strength with a silver tipped trident, grasped firmly with both of its powerful hands at the end of its muscle filled arms. (800/700)

"Overflowing Hydration will give the monster I summon an additional 800 attack points though." The younger Ronin spoke, noticing the instant dumbfounded look on his opponents face. The Furious Sea King was nothing more than a weak, normal monster card that rarely saw play. (1600/700) "And I combo with Bursting Dam!"

"Bursting Dam…" Ronin's shock turned into contemplation as he watched the magic card appear behind the blue skinned fish man, causing him to glow with a radiant light. _"That will allow him to decrease the attack of a level three or lower water monster by 500 points, just to attack my life points directly."_

Bounding forward, the incredibly strong looking monster wielded back its weapon, thrusting it forward when it reached Ronin, not even stopping to take a second glance at the large golem that typically would have blocked his way. The spear stopped inches from Ronin's chest, but the powerful energy wave that blasted off the three spikes caused Ronin to scream out in pain none the less and fly backwards. (1100/700)

Ronin-2900 LP  
Young Ronin-4000 LP

"And that is all I will do this turn." The younger Ronin let his arms fall to his side as his Furious Sea King landed back on his side of the field, slamming the blunt end of the trident into the invisible floor beneath them.

"Whatever." Ronin snarled, his right hand grasping his chest where he was about pierced by the three sharp knives. Walking back to his spot on the dueling field, Ronin finally removed his hand from his chest, drawing the top card off of his deck. Flipping it up, he stared at it before he added it to his hand to make a full hand of six cards. Taking another card, he pulled it out. "I summon Blizzard Dragon in attack mode!"

A loud roar echoed up from behind Ronin, followed shortly after by a blue skinned monster that came blasting out of a geyser of sparks, gliding through the air on wings attached to the bottom sides of its long, bony arms. Landing on its powerful hind legs, the dragonic beast snapped its head back, roaring again, this time creating a fog of ice particles that fell down over its body. (1800/1000)

"Blizzard Dragon's special effect!" Ronin snapped his hand out, pointing directly at the large dragon of water that was sitting upon his opponent's field. "Once per turn, he can freeze a monster on your side of the field, making it incapable of attacking or moving battle modes until the end phase of your turn."

Gale force winds came blasting out of the Blizzard Dragon's wide open mouth, circling around the body of the gigantic best, causing its body to freeze into a large ice-cycle. Rocking back and forth for a second, the monster found balance as it stood there, a frozen statue, incapable of doing anything.

"And I also play this." Ronin continued, sliding a card into his duel disk behind the dragon monster he had just summoned. With a ripple in the space before him, and a blast of light, the magic card appeared, glowing in a cool, light blue aura. "I activate White Blizzard! Now my Blizzard Dragon, attack Furious Sea King with your Blizzard of Flames!"

What erupted from the dragon's mouth wasn't fire, but instead sheets of ice and snow, curving around to look like crystallized blue flames. Within seconds of being launched, the attack swallowed the buff fish-man whole, causing him to roar out in pain as his body was frozen solid before shattering into a million data bits.

Ronin-2900 LP  
Young Ronin-3800 LP

"But I'm not done," Ronin pulled his hand up, pointing at the younger version of himself. "White Blizzard deals you 600 points of damage when I destroy a monster on your side of the field. So pay up!"

Blasting out of the card image, another massive storm of snow and ice went bursting forth, engulfing the younger Ronin in its blinding curtain of bad weather. Through the veil, a loud beeping could be heard, indicating that indeed his opponent's life points were falling.

Ronin-2900 LP  
Young Ronin-3200 LP

"Is that all you've got?" The young Ronin spoke, becoming visible from the massive storm. He was protecting his head under his arms, but past that, there wasn't a scratch on him.

"Oh no, there is more." Ronin smirked, knowing he took that round for himself. "I end my turn there."

* * *

"Thoth!" Freyr bellowed, making the Egyptian demon stand at attention, stiff as a board. 

"Yes sire?" He responded, like an obedient service man.

"Take Kiro and find Dementia." Turning back to the young demon, Freyr smirked. "I'm aware you are knowledgeable in the ancient game. At least give her a chance to defend herself by playing you. If you win, feel free to in act any punishment you feel fit upon her. If you lose, stop your little vendetta. But either way, come back here and I'll give you answers you seek."

"What if I don't have any questions?" Kiro snarled a bit, making the red skinned behemoth laugh a bit.

"Oh, you do."

"Fine." Kiro turned walking of the cave slowly, making sure not to step on the unconscious body lying on the floor. Thoth followed slowly behind, a bit reluctant to have to guide the annoying half demon around. Once outside the cave, the two of them took off at inhuman speeds, Thoth guiding Kiro to the place he could feel Dementia's aura.

* * *

Releasing the top card of his deck, the young Ronin added the new card to his duel disk, causing the card to materialize before his feet. "I set one card face-down," as he spoke, he was already taking the last card he held, sliding it into his duel disk next to the recently set card. "And I play Card of Sanctity, drawing a full six cards for myself. You though, only get two cards, since you already have four in your hand." 

Grumbling at how his opponent spoke to Ronin, as if he was a complete retard, he slid two cards from his deck, adding them to his hand. His opponent cheerfully plucked six cards off of his own deck, fanning them open for him to see everything he had drawn.

"Come out!" The child-like Ronin bellowed, slapping a card he had drawn down onto his duel tray. "Gagagigo (1850/1000)!"

A snarling, green skinned, human like monster appeared standing right next the ice sculpture of the Water Dragon. Crashing its fists at the end of large, muscle filled arms together, the monster let out a roar of power as it appeared. Not a word was spoken, but a silent agreement was made that caused the reptilian monster to bound forward, smashing its fist right into the chest of the blue dragon monster waiting on Ronin's field, causing the beast to explode into a million data bits.

Ronin-2850 LP  
Young Ronin-3200 LP

Landing on his own field again, the reptilian wrestler pounded its chest like a monkey, emphasizing its overwhelming power.

"Looks like that is all I will do on this turn." The young Ronin pointed to the large dragon as he spoke, watching as ice that had been encasing him shattered, leaving the beast of water to move freely again. Snapping its head-like formation back, the monster let out a powerful roar, very pleased to be free.

"Draw!" Ronin bellowed out, snapping the top card off of his deck. Before he even had a chance to look at it, his attention was drawn to the field before him by a huge cyclone, blasting across the field.

"Trap card open." Young Ronin cried out, snapping his arm towards the already up righted trap card that was the source of massive storm. "Dust Tornado destroys one magic or trap card on the field, and I'm going to go ahead and chose your White Blizzard!"

"Dammit." Ronin cursed as the twister fell over the card hologram, shredding it to pieces instantly. The pieces though didn't vanish, instead they formed a twister of their own, flying upwards to the large golem monster crouching on Ronin's field, stabbing through the beast and causing it to explode. "When White Blizzard is destroyed, I must destroy one card on my side of the field."

Thrusting his hand forward though, Ronin aimed his finger directly at the younger version of himself.

"But when Ice-Rock Golem is destroyed you must discard one card from your hand!"

"Very well." The young Ronin placed a card from his hand into his graveyard slot, watching it vanished, being eaten up by the darkness. Pulling another card form his hand, the young Ronin slid it into his duel disk gracefully, watching the card appear before him. "And when Dust Tornado activates, I place one card from my hand onto the field."

"It doesn't matter because in this turn I'm wiping your field clean." Ronin smirked, very confident in his move. Yanking three cards from his hand of seven, he flicked one over, sliding it into his duel disk. "I activate Trap Booster! This card allows me to discard one card to activate a trap card from my hand instantly!"

Without hesitation, he whipped one of the two cards he had out, sliding it into the darkness of his own graveyard slot before adding the last card to his duel disk. Forming before him and next to the magic card, the purple bordered card began to glow brightly, sending a beam of light bursting out towards the younger Ronin.

"Frozen for Eternity will remove your Water Dragon from play instantly! Because its not being destroyed, you don't get to return your Hydrogeddon's or Oxygeddon's to the field, like you would typically when it is destroyed."

The beam of light encased the large hydro beast, once again revealing it to be encased in a block of ice. This time though, the hologram rippled, fading out of existence as the monster was removed from the game.

"_Impressive, he finally got past Water Dragon."_ Looking down at his hand, the young Ronin stared at the top card he was holding, smiling a bit. _"But it doesn't matter; this game will be won using the real power of Daedalus. Isn't that right?"_

Though no answer really came, the young Ronin felt the Daedalus card he was staring at respond emotionally, filling the young boy with a pleasant feeling.

"Then I activate Sacrifice Icicle! This card will completely destroy one of my monster card zones in order to summon a Icicle Token to my field!" Ronin bellowed as he slid the card into his duel disk, causing a rectangular spot before the card to become a solid block of ice. Ridged spikes of frozen water stuck out, preventing anything from coming close to that spot. Next to it though, a large ice carved statue of an ancient face appeared. (0/0)

It didn't take long for the ice sculpture to vanish in a up rush of light, swirling about above Ronin's head as he pulled another card from his duel disk out, slapping it down onto the duel tray.

"This token counts as two tributes when tributing it! This lets me summon the winning monster of this duel! Come out: Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon!"

Roaring as it flew out of its spiral of sparks; the large ice carved dragon flew over the heads of the two duelists, leaving a trail of snow in its wake that drifted slowly to the duel field below. It would have been tranquil if the beast hadn't come ripping through the skies, finding its home in the air above Ronin's head. (3000/2500)

"Here is your answer." Ronin threw his body to the right, extending his right arm out towards his younger self as far as it would go. "If I was weak now, would I have such a strong beast on my side!? Here, let me show you. Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon attack! Destroy his Gggagigo!"

Ripping its mouth open, the beast created a deep blue, swirling aura in its pointed mouth, blasting out a blizzard of snow, ice and this aurora-like light. Consuming the reptilian best, the sheer coldness of the attack froze it instantly, causing cracks to race across its smooth surface. Shattering, the monster was instantly destroyed, its data bits floating away from the shattered ice as that slowly faded off the field.

Ronin-2850 LP  
Young Ronin-2050 LP

"I was waiting," the younger Ronin began to speak, sliding the defeated card into his graveyard, "for you to pull out Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon. I wanted you to watch it being ripped to shreds. And by the true power of Daedalus."

"Show me then." Ronin taunted, moving his extended arm back, motioning to his chest with it and his fingers. "Show me your deadly power of Daedalus that I apparently don't know about. How I have misused it." Smirking a bit, Ronin felt the cold presence of the dragon behind him. _"Even if he pulls Daedalus, I have 2850 life points. He can't finish me in one turn with that."_

"Draw." As he drew his card, he instantly pressed a button on his duel disk before adding the card to his hand. The set card he had placed with his Dust Tornado flipped up, shimmering in a bright purple light. "I activate Call of the Haunted. Calling back the card you yourself made me discard due to your Ice-Rock Golem. Unshaven Angler (1500/1600)!"

A plumb of purple smoke twisted its way out of the abyss before the younger Ronin, forming into the shape of a large mouthed fish. Swimming through the air, the image of the fish instantly faded away, throwing its particles into a maelstrom that instantly gathered together behind the child.

"I sacrifice Unshaven Angler to use its effect. It counts as two tributes if it's the tribute for a water attribute monster." Holding up his Daedalus card, it was made clear what he was sacrificing for. Slapping it down onto his duel disk, the monstrous amount of particles went spiraling into the large, bound dragon that still lay behind the younger Ronin watching the duel with is pain filled eyes. "I summon Levia-Dragon – Daedalus!"

The blue serpent couldn't move much, but did manage to lift its head up, growling deeply as it was summoned to the field. The chains straining, the monster pulled and tugged as hard as it could again, but it was futile for the big beast.

"Now I need my field card for my monster." The younger Ronin smirked, bringing his attention down to his hand. From it, he plucked one card out and flipped it over. "I discard from my hand Warrior of Atlantis (1900/1200). By doing this, I can add one A Legendary Ocean from my deck to my hand."

Ripping his deck out of his duel disk, he fanned it open, gazing the cards with his grasping eyes. Finding the card, he yanked it out of his deck, sliding the stack back into his duel disk.

"This ends here." The younger Ronin slid the card he had obtained into the appropriate slot, causing the duel disk on his arm to began to beep and flow with lights. "I activate A Legendary Ocean!"

A huge wave crashed in around the dueling field, creating finally a solid platform where the floor would be under the duelists, filling it up to their knees with the water. Behind the young Ronin and his sea dragon, a large, stone tower-like building went shooting up, glowing in a bright purple light as it did. (Levia-Dragon – Daedalus 2800/1700)

Howling with the power, the large behemoth tried again to bust its way out of its ice chains that locked it down. Struggled and squirming the beast tried with all of its might, causing the chains to creak in protest. Though the monster was mighty, the chains held strong, keeping the beast in place.

Laughing a bit, Ronin pointed to his younger versions Daedalus. "It would appear your monster is a bit tied up at the moment." Letting his arm fall, Ronin's smirk turned into a frown as he saw his younger self pull a card from his hand. "Well, hurry up and activate its effect so we can move on in this duel."

"I don't believe I'll do that." The young Ronin spoke, holding the card up to his face, the back still facing Ronin. "I said I was going to unleash Daedalus's full might, and I will do it. Watch!"

Daedalus began to roar again, glowing brightly in its bonds. Its body began to change suddenly, the shape of the now white being began to grow, shattering the chains of ice as if they were as fragile as glass. Stretching out, the form of light continued its mutation before ripping its obvious head back, roaring loudly.

Ronin had to shield himself from the light as it shed off of the new beast, leaving a completely new monster in the wake of the previous one. Its aqua blue head was rounded, kind of blunt on the end of a large, purple scaled neck that ran down to a bigger mass of blue scales the jutted out from behind it. Two long, bony arms ran down the side of the beast with razor sharp, yellow talons at the end of each hand.

What startled Ronin the most though was that from that clump of dark, navy blue scales on the back of the monsters torso, shot up another head, this one scaled also in the dark blue all the way over the crown of its head. Roaring in unison, the large beast began to slither past the younger Ronin, revealing more of its incredibly long, navy blue scaled body and the crimson red fin that raced all the way down to its pointed tail.

"Feast your eyes upon the true master of the ocean. Ocean Dragon Lord – Neo-Daedalus!" The child Ronin bellowed, thrusting his arm upward to the large, double headed monster. (2900/1600)

"What the hell?!" Ronin was wide eyed, staring up at the beast who was now towering over the field, larger than many buildings Ronin has ever seen. Both of its eyes were glowing bright red, casting their deadly gaze down upon him.

"The true form of Daedalus!" The young Ronin jerked his duel disk around, hitting the side of it so the field card zone popped open. "By sacrificing Umi on the field, this card destroys all cards on the field, and in both players' hands except for itself. Making it the most deadly card you'll ever meet!"

Yanking out the field card, the dragon began to bellow out with both of its mouths, causing the abyss they were in to shake. Ronin looked up just in time to watch his Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon shatter into a million data bits, crushed by the overwhelming pressure that flooded into the air.

A beam of aquamarine blue blasted out of the dragon's two heads, doubling the size of each beam when they collided together a short distance in front of the monster. Racing forward, the beam engulfed Ronin's world, making it a shade of light, painful blue.

Ronin-0 LP  
Young Ronin-2050 LP

* * *

Dementia drew her eyes away from Yukio for a moment as the two demons appeared behind Yukio. Thoth instantly growling, staring hateful eyes upon the back of Yukio's head. 

"There you are you bitch!" Kiro hissed, ignoring Yukio and Thoth and lunging at Dementia. Inches from grabbing her, he felt a hand close down around his face, whipping his body downward until it collided with the ground.

"I won't let you disobey Freyr." Thoth, who stood over Kiro triumphantly, glared down at the demon. "He said you play the ancient game, and that is…" Thoth's eyes caught something that had flown out of Kiro's shirt upon impact. A golden medallion with a tiny fragment of the crystal was draped around his neck. _"If I could get that off of him…"_

"Right, right, I know." Kiro bounded to his feet, turning towards the vampire. "Get ready you, we are going to duel." Kiro's left arm was jerked up, the white wrist gadget humming to life as the beams of light shot out of the sensors, twisting together and tying themselves up into a platform for Kiro to play on.

"Now hold on you." Thoth growled, turning towards the green haired demon and the blue haired human that just happened to be standing there. "The ancient game will be played, but I'm also intruding in on this." Snapping up his own arm, the Egyptian behemoth showed his wrist band opening up, shooting out the slab of metal that was kept inside. Shimmering; the metal flowed outwards, forming a beam where a typical duel tray would sit. Mutating itself, the wrist band also formed itself into the proper duel disk shape.

"Two on one?" Kiro growled, watching as a confused Dementia let her own duel disk activate, folding out into a bad wing-like shaped duel tray. "Fine, I can handle that. I've definitely dealt with worst."

"Oh come on darling, if I must duel, let's at least make it interesting." Dementia spoke up for the first time, pointing to the blue haired human standing in the group. "At least take this one as your partner so I can punish him for betrayal to Lord Freyr."

"Yes, that would be ample by me." Thoth sneered, causing Yukio to slink back, suddenly being included in all of this mess.

"But I don't…" He began, but was sharply cut off as Kiro's loud voice jutted through the air.

"Fine, it doesn't matter to me." Turning his head swiftly to the human, he growled as he spoke, causing the human to turn towards him, for the first time breaking his eye hold on the two monsters before him. "You better know how to duel."

"I'm one of the best." Yukio retorted, a bit insulted by Kiro's remark. "But I still don't want…"

"You'd better be." Kiro turned back to the demons before them. "Alright, let's get this over with."

"Feisty, aren't we darling?" Dementia smirked, placing her hand on Thoth's shoulder. "But what chance do you really stand?"

"Especially when we are doing this in a much different light." Thoth interrupted everyone, causing everyone, even Dementia to stare at him a bit confused.

From under his purple breastplate, Thoth pulled out a strange cube carved from light brown colored stone. Hieroglyphs seemed to be numerous, and twist their way all over the face of the cube. With one jerk of his arm, the cube was launched high into the air, twirling like a die cast into the nigh sky.

"We shall play by an ancient Egyptian punishment system." Thoth bellowed out as the cube came racing back to earth, hitting the soft grass with a mighty force. Shattering, the stone cube's shards scattered across the ground. For a moment, it seemed nothing had happened, but then a black smoke came blasting out of the shards, engulfing the four of them whole.

When the smoke cleared, the first thing that Kiro, Yukio and Dementia noticed was a drastic change in gravity's pressure. Wobbling a bit, their eyes adjusted to see that they were standing on long, floating stone carved platforms, surrounded by nothing but the vast space of the night sky.

"What the hell!" Yukio screamed, having been stupid enough to take a look downward. They were indeed floating miles above the earth's surface. The rolling hills below seemed so small, almost flattening themselves out into the scenery painted below them.

"Don't be scared little boy." Thoth spoke, drawing everyone's attention to his platform. "Nothing will happen to you as long as you don't fall." Holding up his left arm, he slid his deck of cards into his duel disk, smirking a bit. "But I don't think I have to paint it out for you what would happen if you did fall."

"It's a lovely image." Kiro growled, sliding his own deck into his duel disk, followed by Dementia doing the same. Yukio, reluctantly, let his own duel disk activate before sliding his deck into it.

"Alright, so were all set." Dementia smirked, holding her duel disk level with her breast, placing her hand on the top of her deck. "Shall we get going?" She asked, looking across the gap to Kiro who stood across from her, also drawing his opening hand. "Since this seems to be your entire personal vendetta, go ahead and show us what you've got darling."

"Fine." Kiro hissed, fanning open his hand of cards.

"Duel!" All of them cried out at the same time.

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Ocean Dragon Lord – Neo-Daedalus  
**2900/1600/8/Water/Sea Serpent**  
**This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by Tributing 1 "Levia-Dragon - Daedalus" on your side of the field. Send "Umi" on your side of the field to the Graveyard to send all cards in both players' hands and on the field to the Graveyard, except this card.

Young Ronin: "The strongest form of Daedalus. This behemoth of a monster rules the ocean with two sets of powerful, razor sharp jaws. Let him be the mile stone on the lesson that would follow anyone daring to tread on his turf. He is king, he is the master. He is the ocean lord. A mere sacrificing of Daedalus to summon, upping the power its previous form had. This card wipes all of the slate clean, sans itself of course."

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	38. Duelists against the Stars part 1

Episode 38: Duelists against the Stars part 1

High above the earth in the black sky, easily illuminated by the light of the three florescent moons, the four duelists on their stone pedestals stared at one another. Nothing came between them, not even a faint whisper of wind.

All four minds were on their tactics, analyzing one another and the opening hands they had drawn.

"I start." Kiro broke the silence as he drew the top card off of his deck, flicking it over to view its face.

Kiro-4000 LP  
Yukio-4000 LP  
Dementia-4000 LP  
Thoth-4000 LP

"Hmm." Kiro pondered for a moment before palming the card and moving another card from his hand into his duel disk. "I summon Gravekeeper's Vassal (700/500) in face-up defense mode." Flicking the card he had drawn up, he slid it into the tray of light under the spot where he had set the monster. "And I set one card face-down. This ends my turn."

A brown robed monster appeared over its orange colored card, crossing its arms over its body as it knelt down onto its knees. Around the monsters face and neck, sans its eyes, was a large, lime green scarf that flew back, landing down the monsters spinal cord. Behind it in a glittering light show, a brown backed card appeared.

"_This should be enough for me to test the waters to see what I'm up against."_ Kiro looked at his rather weak monster crouching before him.

"I go next sweeties." Dementia called out, yanking the top card off of her own deck and adding it to her hand. Jerking out another card she instantly slid it into one of the small, thin dark rectangular slots on her duel disk. "Magic card; Soul Exchange! This will allow me to take the soul of one of my opponent's monsters and summon a high level monster with that energy!"

The Gravekeeper's Vassal began to moan as a pure white blob of energy came blasting from its chest, causing the soulless body to shatter into a million pieces. Blasting across the field, the beam of energy began to swirl itself into a hurricane, forming a strong representation of a human body inside its swirling confines.

"I summon to my field Curse of Vampire (2000/800), attack mode!" Dementia bellowed out, her monster finally forming a colored body. It was a bony monster in navy blue armor. Its stringy green hair sat in a perfect mat on top of its pale skinned head while its dark black caped wrapped around its body for a second before flapping back with a swing of his hand.

Behind him instantly a set card appeared, following the instruction Dementia was manually giving her duel disk by sliding a card into it.

"I set one card face-down, concluding my turn."

Yukio thought about protesting that he didn't want to be doing this, but one slight glance downward told him that there was no way out. Swallowing hard, he yanked the top card off of his deck, feeding it into his hand while he looked over his options. Taking a card, he slid it gently into his own duel disk.

"If I have to do this…" He began, waiting patiently while the card materialized before him. "I activate Black Soul Service. I must activate this card with a discard, but as long as it remains face-up on my field, monsters I control cannot be destroyed by trap cards."

Thrusting a card he yanked out of his hand forward, Yukio showed an orange bordered monster card with the picture of a massive, red haired beast upon its image crouching down like some sort of gorilla. The identical image of the monster appeared on the field before Yukio, snarling like a rabid dog. Its nose was scrunched up on its face, its two nostrils flared open, giving a pig like appearance to the monster. From its lower lip, two large, pearly white fangs jutted upwards past the roof of his nose.

"The card I discard is Zergo's Rage Behemoth (2000/800), whose effect activates instantly upon discarding it. He special summons himself to my field in attack mode!" Slapping another card down next to the Rage Behemoth card, another monster began to appear on Yukio's field, this one a large, slab of marble, shimmering with a pitch-black aura. "And I summon Zergo's Marble Wall (200/2100) in defense mode!"

Fanning open the three card he still held, Yukio nodded as he slid another one out, pushing it into his duel disk before looking up.

"I set this card face-down to end my turn."

"Draw." Thoth spoke gruffly as he yanked the top card from his deck, adding it to his own hand. Freeing another card, it was instantly slid into the plate like duel disk the monster had before him. "I activate Tribute to the Doomed. By discarding one card from my hand I can destroy one monster on the field."

Thrusting a card into his graveyard slot, Thoth jerked his arm forward to point to the hairy beast that was sitting before Yukio. Within moments, the Zergo's Rage Behemoth was covered tightly in bandages, wrapped up tighter than a mummy. The pressure instantly got to it, causing it to shatter into a million data bits.

"I destroy Zergo's Rage Behemoth." Thoth spoke as he revealed another card, sliding it into his duel disk. "Monster Reborn go! I revive one monster in the graveyard to the field and I think I'll choose the very monster I discarded myself."

Erupting into a geyser of sparks, a massive blast of energy came from Thoth's card. From it, a bird headed, brown haired monster came bursting out, flapping out its long, thick, yet fragile wings. Its body was that of a lion, its powerful limbs dangling below it as it circled around above before coming down to a resting spot in front of Thoth.

"I summon Hieracosphinx, in attack mode (2400/1200), ending my turn."

"Lovely" Kiro glanced over the field.

He could see his opponent's weren't going to be easy ones. In their first turns they pulled two monster with 2000 attack points and up. Not only that, but they stripped him and his partner each of their monsters. Luckily, Yukio did have his Marble Wall to defend himself until it came to his turn.

"Draw!" Yanking a card off of his deck, Kiro slid it into his hand before sliding another card out onto his duel disk. "I set one monster face-down defense mode, ending my turn." Before him the set card hologram appeared in a flash of light.

"Then I go darling." Dementia cried out, yanking the top card off of her deck and placing it into her hand. Trusting her left arm forward, she pointed towards Kiro's set. "Go Curse of Vampire, attack his set!"

Blasting across the field, the blue armored vampire came down upon the set card, karate chopping it like a professional, only to find his hand caught in a pair of rough, callused hands on the now, face-up defending monster.

"Not so fast Dementia." Kiro pulled out his deck as he spoke. "You hit my Gravekeeper's Spy (1200/2000), and when it's flipped face-up, I pull a Gravekeeper from my deck with 1500 attack points or less and summon it to the field."

What appeared next to the black robed, tan warrior monster that was still holding onto the hand of the vampire, was a much smaller, robed tan man with a large, gray, blue and yellow striped shepherds cane crossed over its chest. A toxic green aura floated around its body and down through the cane.

"I chose Gravekeeper's Curse (800/800), defense mode." Sliding his deck back into his duel disk, Kiro smirked, continuing to speak. "And Curse's effect kicks in. When it's summoned to the field, my opponents take 500 life points of damage."

Flicking its cane forward, the monster sent out a blast of the green toxic aura, covering both Thoth and Dementia in a green mist.

Kiro-4000 LP  
Yukio-4000 LP  
Dementia-3500 LP  
Thoth-3500 LP

"_Seems Kiro plays a nasty Gravekeeper deck."_ Yukio observed, watching as the Gravekeeper's Spy finally released its hostage, sending it flying back to the vampire's field. _"This is good. It means I'm not stuck with some lousy partner who doesn't know how to play."_

"Fine, I finish my turn." Dementia scoffed, a bit annoyed how her attack only worked against her in the end.

"Draw!" Yukio cried out, yanking the top card off of his own deck. "Zergo's Cyborg (1500/1700), defense mode!" Not hesitating a second, Yukio slapped down a card from his hand onto his duel disk, causing the card to appear in a vortex of sparks on his own field. On top of the card appeared a cylindrical monster, crossing its two cannon-like arms over its body and burying its wolf-like metal head underneath them. "I end my turn there."

"All you pathetic human and human-like abominations can do is set up defenses." Thoth mocked, yanking the top card off of his own deck and adding it to his hand. "Well watch this! Hieracosphinx attack Zergo's Marble Wall!"

"No you don't!" Yukio cried out, his set card flipping up, instantly shooting out a barrage of metal beams that began to form a prison around the sphinx monster. "My trap card: Cage of Zergo's Captives prevents one monster of my choosing from attacking or being tribute." Looking down, Yukio stared at his two monster cards on the field. "The only price is I have to sacrifice a Zergo monster during each of my turn to keep my cage."

"_Is this kid running a Zergo deck? A real one?"_ Kiro watched Yukio out of the corner of his eye. _"Those cards are hard to find. A full set of them anyways."_

"Fine." Thoth, like Dementia, annoyed that his move didn't get him anywhere, looked over at Kiro. "It's your turn." His monster fell down in the cage, banging its claws against the steel bars that lay across the bottom.

"Draw!" Kiro yanked the top card form his deck, moving it over to his hand to calculate all of his options. "I set one card face-down." He began, sliding the card into his duel tray of light, the image of the card materializing before him and inches next to its partner set card. "And end my turn with that."

"Here I go!" Dementia yanked her next card from her deck, looking it over well. Smirking, she placed the card into her duel disk; causing two large and blood shot eyes to appear behind her. "I activate the magic card Coercive Magic Eyes. This lets one zombie monster on my field with 2000 attack or less attack my opponent directly this turn." Swinging her arm forward, she pointed directly at Kiro, who braced himself instantly to what he knew was coming. "Curse of Vampire attack!"

Blasting across the field, its cape racing out behind it, the blue armored monster raced straight past Kiro's two defending monsters, swinging up behind the green haired demon and sinking its fangs into the demon's shoulder. Kiro didn't even flinch, or care to attempt to stop the monsters attack, knowing it would do no good. His gem like eyes fell down to his duel disk, watching as a massive chunk of his life points was cut free.

Kiro-2000 LP  
Yukio-4000 LP  
Dementia-3500 LP  
Thoth-3500 LP

Laughing like an insane woman, Dementia had her head cranked back as the monster returned to the field. Subsiding her laughs for a moment, she wiped a tear out of her eye, having formed from laughing so hard.

"I set two cards face-down." Dementia spoke, a bit choked up from the laugh as she slid two cards into her duel disk. One card each appeared on either side of the already set card. "And I activate Burning Blood Rush! This card will cut one monsters attack points in half. But in two of my standby phases, that monster gains twice its original attack."

Moaning as if he was in pain, the Curse of Vampire crossed his arms over its armored chest, growing even paler as he did. (1000/800)

"I chose my own Curse of Vampire. Ending my turn with that."

"Draw!" Yukio cried out, yanking the top most card from his deck, adding it to his hand. _"With Black Soul Service out, our monsters can't be destroyed by trap cards_._ So if she thought she'd be able to protect her vampire that way, it won't work."_

Groaning and hissing, the dog-headed cyborg shook a bit before shattering into a million data bits, forming a flowing stream of energy that raced across the field, seeping into the metal bars of the cage still confining the large bird headed monster.

"To keep Cage of Zergo's Captures I sacrifice my Zergo's Cyborg." Pulling a card from his hand, Yukio instantly placed it into his duel disk, causing the card to appear before him. Glowing, the card spit out a beam of light that instantly took form of the large, red haired behemoth monster that once inhabited his field. "I activate also; Zergo's Open Coffin. This lets me special summon one level five or lower Zergo monster to my field. So I'll bring back my Rage Behemoth, seeing as he's a level five monster!"

Slamming its massive, ape like fists together, the monster barked out a massive howl, letting the world know it was alive. (2000/0)

"The only downfalls to my card are its defense becomes zero." Yukio explained the stats, pointing at the vampire once he finished. "But his 2000 attack is more than enough to take out your Curse of Vampire!"

Barreling across the field like a rabid animal, the massive monster began to swing its arm back, ready to strike the weakened master of the night.

"Trap card activate!" Dementia swished her arm through the air, causing one of her cards to begin to rise up.

"Thanks to Black Soul Service, my monsters can't be destroyed due to trap cards." Yukio explained aloud, a bit of hope brewing in his eyes that, that was going to cut Dementia's plan short. But it didn't, the card continued to rise up.

"Doesn't mean I can't save my own monsters hide!" Dementia retorted, the card clicking into an upright pose, glowing with a venomous black light. "Vampiric Immortality will prevent one attack against a monster with Vampire in its name."

Though the beast has arms the size of trees, hitting the chest of the defending vampire didn't even cause the monster to move an inch. Sitting there, it almost appeared as if the monster hadn't even been hit at all.

"But that isn't all." Dementia thrust her arm forward towards Yukio, stabbing into him mentally with her razor sharp nail. The black aura from around her card went blasting off at high velocity, following the red beats path back to its masters field, racing ahead of it and slamming into Yukio. Stumbling a bit from the force, he felt the wind knocked out of him slightly. "It'll deal the difference between our two monster's attack strengths as battle damage to your life points. This is a grand total of 1000 points."

Kiro-2000 LP  
Yukio-3000 LP  
Dementia-3500 LP  
Thoth-3500 LP

"_These guys are pretty strong."_ Yukio growled, sliding the card on his duel disk horizontally. "Thanks to Zergo's Open Coffin, the special summoned monster goes to defense mode during my end phase. So I'm done with my turn."

"I draw," Thoth began, yanking a card from his duel disk. Without a second though, he slid it into his duel disk. "Set one card face-down, and end my turn."

"Draw!" Kiro began his turn, yanking the top card from his own deck and adding it to his hand. _"Might as well try."_ Kiro though, sliding the card on his duel disk horizontally, causing the Gravekeeper's Spy on the field to stand up straight, glaring down its opponents. "Gravekeeper's Spy attack! Destroy her Cruse of Vampire now!"

Cupping its hands, the monster began to form a ball of dark blue energy. Within this ball of energy, pure white ruins began to spiral around, filling the ball with magical energies for the attack. Winding back its arm, the monster launched the attack forward. Almost as an instant reaction, one of Dementia's cards began to rise up.

"I activate my set card; Force of the Night! This card gives one zombie type monster on my field 1000 attack points!" Dementia cried out, a starry beam of light blasting out of the trap card, engulfing the armored monster, causing it to groan as its power shot upwards. (2000/800)

"No you don't." Kiro growled, whipping his arm through the air, causing one of his own set cards to flip up. "I activate Rising Energy! By discarding 1 card from my hand, this card gives one of my monsters 1500 more points of attack." Kiro announced as he slid a card from his hand into his graveyard slot. Smirking, he watched his up-righted trap card send out a massive surge of yellow colored energy, blanketing the Gravekeeper's Spy in its warmth. (2700/2000)

"I won't let that happen." Thoth interrupted, drawing both Dementia's and Kiro's gaze towards him and his now activated trap card. "Pull Off Power! This card drains out all modifications to scores of one monster on the field. I'm choosing of course, your Gravekeeper's Spy!"

"What?!" Kiro's eyes went wide as the yellow aura the surrounded his monster began to fade away, flowing off of the monsters body into a cloud of mist just barely surround it. (1200/2000)

"Good work." Dementia cackled, pleased with her partners help in the matter. She watched as the ball of energy creped closer to her monster. "Now Curse of Vampire, prepare for your counter attack!"

"_I have to do something."_ Kiro realized, scanning his hand for a second before ripping a card out of it, sliding it instantly into his duel disk. "Quick-play magic card activate! Book of Moon flips my Gravekeeper's Spy into face-down defense mode, canceling out the attack!"

The Gravekeeper's Spy instantly vanished from the field, being replaced by a set card. Like-wise, the ball of energy fizzled and melted out of the air, seconds before colliding with the armored vampire monster.

"And I end my turn with that." Kiro spoke, removing his hand from the slot on his duel disk where he had just slid the card in to save himself. As he did, the Vampire monster began to lose what little color it had left, the energy from Dementia's trap card draining off of him again. (1000/800)

"_Wow."_ Yukio had to admit, he was impressed. He felt slightly renewed confidence in his partners dueling, being able to pull of a combo like that to save himself. Even though Kiro was sitting at the bottom of the totem pole in life points, he obviously wasn't going to go out without a fight. _"All it means is that this duel isn't one where anyone is pulling any punches."_

"Looks like it's my turn to go darlings." Dementia smirked, sliding the top card off of her own deck and flipping it up to stare at its face. "Only one more turn to go my dear servant." She spoke, taking her yellow eyes off of the card, staring at the weakened vampire still sitting on her field. "Soon, you'll feel the blood rush. But thanks to it, you are safe. You see," Dementia looked past her monster to her opponents, continuing to speak as she did, "Force of the Night has a backlash effect. During my turn, if the monster that gained the effect has more than 1000 attack points, it's placed face-down on my deck. Lucky him, he has only 1000 points at the moment, so he's safe."

Pulling out a new card from her hand, she slid it into her duel disk, watching the card form on the field before her. Instantly glowing a bright red light that shot off, surrounding Dementia herself.

"I will start off my turn playing Pot of Greed." Drawing two more cards from her deck, Dementia smiled a bit as she took one of them, sliding it into her duel disk. "I set this card face-down on the field first."

Appearing next to its brethren, the new set card appeared in a ripple of light.

"Curse of Vampire attack Gravekeeper's Curse!" Dementia ordered, sending her armored monster flying across the field. Even though it looked sickly, the monster still managed to throw its arm through the air, chopping into the shoulder of the defending monster, causing its shoulder blade to break instantly. Moaning in pain, the monster exploded into a million little data bits that shot the Vampire monster back to Dementia's field. "And I finish my turn with that move."

"Draw." Yukio remained calm, sliding the top card off of his deck and placing it into his hand. _"We have to do something fast. If it gets back to Dementia's turn, her Curse of Vampire will skyrocket to 4000 attack points."_

Shattering instantly, the Marble Wall became nothing but energy, feeding into the metal bindings that still held the sphinx monster tight. Yukio slid the actual card into his graveyard slot, looking over his hand afterwards to see what kind of options he had left to work with.

"_I am running out of ways to stall Thoth's Heiracosphinx. But he really hasn't done much this duel anyways."_ Yukio's eyes drifted to the demon adorned in Egyptian artifacts. _"He must be letting Dementia take the front of the assaults, while he builds up something big."_ Looking back down at his cards, he had nothing to help him at the moment. _"I have to keep concentrating on getting that stupid vampire off the field before it becomes too much to deal with."_ With a thrust of his arm, Yukio extended a vile index finger towards the sickly looking man wasting away before Dementia. "Rage Behemoth attack!"

Standing up as it switched into attack mode again, the large pig-like behemoth let out a loud grunt as it sprung high into the air, aiming for its target.

"And right into another one of my devious traps." Dementia smirked, thrusting her arm forward to let her set card flip up, glowing as it activated. "Hellish Ark to Safety prevents all damage dealt to me and a zombie or fiend type monster on my field."

Appearing in a virtual maelstrom of particles, a large, wooden ship surrounded the vampire, acting as a sturdy barrier as the massive red haired beast crashed into the side of it, roaring in pain as its fist burned red.

"To make a long story short darling, Hellish Ark to Safety cuts your monsters points in half, but you get to draw another card for the hell of it." Dementia smirked, her trap card and the large ship vanishing from the field.

Yukio yanked the top card off of his deck adding it to his hand while his apish monster landed on his side of the field again, its hands swollen up as if he had broken them punching the wooden ship. (1000/0)

"I end my turn." Yukio growled, a bit annoyed that his monster had just been tossed aside like a rag doll. _"My Black Soul Service only stops traps that destroy monsters on my field. So far, they haven't used any. All of their traps are just throwing our monsters around."_ Yukio churned the thoughts over and over in his head, watching as the Egyptian demon drew his next card.

"Toxic Sphinx!" Thoth bellowed, slapping a card from his hand face-up onto his duel disk. A huge, black skinned lion-like beast made of stone came bounding out of a geyser of sparks, landing in the air before him. Its head, sitting a bit high up on its body, was that of a fierce cat. Yellow and purple lines traced themselves symmetrically all over the rough, black skin of the monster. (2000/300) "Attack mode!"

Thoth slid his hand off of the card he just played, slashing it through the air until it pointed to the red haired monster that was grunting on Yukio's field.

"Toxic Sphinx attack Rage Behemoth!" Thoth barked his command, demanding respect from the large monster. Obeying without hesitation, the large monster bounded through the air, landing on top of the monster and instantly shattering it into a million data bits once its razor sharp claws dug through its hide.

Kiro-2000 LP  
Yukio-2000 LP  
Dementia-3500 LP  
Thoth-3500 LP

"And with no sacrifices, your Cage of Zergo's Captures effect will expire." Thoth boasted, motioning to his large, tan, bird headed monster in the cage hovering next to him. "Freeing my monster." Letting his arms fold back across his chest, he grunted a bit as he nodded. "I'm done with my turn."

"Draw!" Kiro jerked the top card off of his deck, staring at its face for a moment while his mind drifted over the cards on the field. _"Dammit. This is the last turn before that vampire gets a major power boost."_ Looking up, Kiro's gem-like eyes drifted over to the two sphinx monsters resting on Thoth's field. _"Not only that, but I have to deal with those two as well."_

Looking over at his partner, Kiro's eyes full upon the two cards he had upright on his field. Growling a bit, he realized that Yukio was completely defenseless at the moment, but he still could be of some use.

"I activate my magic card; Ancient Ying-Yang Clock!" Sliding the card into his duel disk, the magic card formed before him, glowing in a mix of white and black light. "This card destroys all face-up magic and trap cards on the field, letting every player draw a card for each destroyed in this way."

Yukio was a bit shocked, so much so he jerk when the two cards before him shattered instantly, leaving nothing but a faint mist over the spot where they once sat.

"Two cards destroyed, so we all draw twice." Kiro exclaimed, yanking two cards off the top of his deck and placing them into his own hand.

Dementia and Thoth drew their two cards almost in unison, instantly sliding them into their hands. Yukio, who was still in a bit of shock, drew his cards slowly, one at a time. Putting the first into his hand before drawing the second one and repeating the motion with it.

"I'll discard this card," Kiro held up a monster card depicting an Egyptian man in a Anubis mask before sliding it into his graveyard. "When Gravekeeper's Commandant (1600/1500) is discarded from my hand to the graveyard, one Necrovalley is placed from my deck into my hand."

Yanking his deck out of his duel disk, Kiro fanned it open, shifting through cards incredibly fast until he spotted his field card, sliding it out and putting it into his hand. Giving his deck a quick shuffle, he slid it back into his duel disk before yanking a card out from his hand, thrusting it into the side of the light dueling tray.

"Necrovalley!" Kiro bellowed as all around the outside of the floating platforms, large, stone walls virtualized within a matter of moments. A cool, crisp breeze rushed down through the canyon walls, whistling as it raced past the jagged rocks protruding from the side of the valley. "This card makes all of our graveyards off limits. Not only that, but it will make my monsters 500 attack and defense points stronger. Here, watch!" Kiro picked up his set card, flipping it around in his glossy black fingers before slapping it back down vertically and face-up on his duel disk. "Come out again, Gravekeeper's Spy!"

The set card before Kiro shimmered, cracking all over its back before the tan, black robed Egyptian espionage agent came flying out, hovering softly down to the air above where the card used to lay. Glowing for a second, the monster took in the power of the field card around it. (1700/2500)

"And when Spy is summoned, I summon a new monster." Kiro whipped his deck out of his duel disk again, taking one of the monsters he saw after fanning it open and slapping it down next to the flip summoned monster. "Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier!" (1500/1000)

A vortex of sparks and lights erupted from the slot next to the spy, causing a spear wielding monster to come bursting out into the air. Twirling the wooden handled weapon between its fingers and letting its black robed clothing whip in the air that raced by him, the monster made a grand entrance, hovering down next to the Spy. Glowing for a moment as the field card empowered it as well. (2000/1500)

"Don't think I'm done yet." Kiro yanked another card from his hand, sliding it into his duel disk. "I'm activating Nightmare Bindings!"

From out of nowhere, long, iron chains began to fly towards Thoth's Heiracosphinx, wrapping tightly around its body several times before pulling tight, pinning the monster up into an awkward position as it struggled to free itself. Screeching loudly, the monster felt its energy being drained away through the metal chain-links. (1600/1200)

Kiro-2800 LP  
Yukio-2000 LP  
Dementia-3500 LP  
Thoth-3500 LP

"This card constrains your monster, keeping it from being able to be sacrificed and draining it of 800 attack points." Kiro held up his left arm, turning his duel tray to face the opponents so they could see the large numbers in the blue sphere on the top. "And all those points are put into my life points."

Dropping his left hand down, Kiro took a quick swivel to his body, jerking his right hand forward to the monster he had just tied up.

"Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier attack!" Nodding, the spear wielding monster bounded high into the air, throwing its spear down like a javelin right into the head of the sphinx, causing it to whip around violently in pain. Landing on the monsters shoulders, the Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier yanked the spear head out of the skull of the monster, jumping off just as the beast exploded in a fiery death.

Kiro-2800 LP  
Yukio-2000 LP  
Dementia-3500 LP  
Thoth-3100 LP

"Gravekeeper's Spy," Kiro's rotated his body until he was facing Dementia and her vampire servant. "Attack!" Siphoning the energy out of its palms, the Gravekeeper's Spy began to form the ball of blue energy, surging with solid white ruins racing over its surface. Winding back, the monster launched the attack forward, watching it only to vanish into a stream of vapor around the monsters body. "What the hell?"

"So close." Dementia smirked, pointing to her up righted trap card. "Contract with the Red Moon negates 1 attack against a zombie type monster on my field." Dementia smirked, pointing to the vapor that was slowly hovering down over her monster. "But my monster gets a bonus because of it. The attack points of your monster is added onto the attack points of mine!" Cackling, Dementia whipped her head back as the vapor was inhaled by her monster, causing it to stand in a stronger pose, moaning a bit as its power finally started to come back. (2700/800)

"_Dammit!"_ Kiro cursed, watching his female opponent laugh incredibly hard. Yanking a card from his hand, Kiro slapped it down onto his duel disk. "I set one monster in defense mode, ending my turn."

"Draw!" Dementia screamed out, drawing the top card of her deck and pointing towards her Curse of Vampire. "It's been two standby phases finally. Burning Blood Rush will now double its original attack strength. But then afterwards, it'll recalculate in the effect of my Contract with Red Moon, giving it an even bigger bonus!"

The Curse of Vampire began to groan, squeezing its fingers tightly into a fist as a crimson red aura sprung up around him. The blood in the monsters veins that it was actually visible on the outside of the monster. A glimmer appeared in the back of its dead eyes, giving the monster reason to curl its lips up into an evil smirk. Growing taller in its own mind, the monster stood up straight, flexing its own power before the world. (5700/800)

"Looks like it's time to finish one of you." Dementia chuckled, pointing towards Yukio. "Good bye traitor. Curse of Vampire attack him directly! Cursed Vampire Bite!"

Nodding, the monster took off like a bullet, blasting through the air. Its hair and cape whipping out behind it as it charged in full force to the now wide eyed, blue haired young man on the receiving end of the attack.

* * *

Freyr picked up a chunk of the crystal that was lying on the ground before him, holding it up so that his three blood red eyes could observe it. He could tell without even looking that Tal was glaring at him, a bit annoyed. 

"Why did you just let him walk all over you Lord Freyr, not to mention just literally walking off?" Tal growled, out loud, whipping his arm across his body. "He may not even come back, not after he gets what he wants, which seemed to me to be revenge on Mistress Dementia."

"Nope," Freyr spoke, causing Tal to look at him in confusion. Tossing the crystal back into the pile, Freyr frowned slightly. "Still not ready yet."

"You are not listening to a word I am saying, are you Lord Freyr." Tal hissed a bit, annoyed that he was so blatantly being ignored.

"I'm not ignoring you." Freyr finally spoke, turning to the human. "But you had best watch your tongue before I rip it out of your mouth. I don't need some sassy human telling what to do. I let him go for two reasons, lets see if your small mind can handle this." Closing his two normal eyes, keeping his third eye open and staring at Tal, Freyr began to shake his head slightly. "The boy was hysteric. He had only one thing on his mind. So I wasn't going to get anything out of him. Besides, we'll see him again soon. And two, we have company."

"Company?" Tal looked even more confused, not quite understanding what Freyr was saying.

"Someone who's been here a while, and a new face to my humble little cave."

Just as Freyr spoke, Ronin sat up in a dash, sweat rolling off of his face as his eyes stared out upon the rolling grass hills outside the cave opening. Shaking his head, he realized it was all just a dream...or was it? The powerful attack from the Neo Daedalus was such a nightmare to him that his whole body trembled now.

"That's one." Freyr pointed to the, now, sitting Ronin. Opening his eyes slowly, Freyr let his arm come back down to his side. "And the second one who has been here a bit, but seems to be losing his touch. Isn't that right Kooru?" Freyr's words caused Tal to look back and forth, not seeing the silver haired demon anywhere; he looked back only to finally spot Kooru leaning up against the wall behind Freyr. "It's amazing you weren't jumped on earlier. Thoth was so distracted from his loss to that human boy, and Kiro was too distracted over his girlfriend. Neither of them even sensed your presence."

"Lucky me." Kooru spoke finally, his arms crossed over his chest as his back rested against the wall.

"You've come to face me again have you? I'm surprised you are still alive after our last encounter." Freyr smirked, finally turning to face the opponent who stood behind him. All of the conversation made Ronin twist his body around from where he sat, staring at the two demons and Tal behind him.

* * *

Reku's eyes sparkled a bit as he cranked his head back, staring up at the large golden castle that stretch skyward before him. The three of them had finally made it back to Order's home, causing all three of them to breath a sigh of relief. 

"I must go…" Reku began, fighting through the pain and jogging across the garden way and in through the open front door. His back still hurt, but it wasn't serious enough to stop him. He was a man on a mission. _"Akina must be worried sick about me. Just like I am worried about her."_

Flying up the twisting stair case, Reku's mind was focused on the way before him, even though he could hear Gurabe and Chao behind him. Not running, but their foot falls did echo in the golden walls.

Breeching the top of the stairs, Reku continued down the hallway, slowing down only briefly to stifle the pain burning in his back. After a second, he rounded a corner, moving down the hall way past quite a few large wooden doors before turning another corner, moving into a long stretch that led to another turn, but a large wooden door, slightly cracked open with light flooding out into the dark hallway whose only light came from the flickering candles that lined the walls. That door lead to the room where they were keeping the demons to rest when they had been injured. Past it and around the corner would lead to the main room of the castle where he was sure he'd find everyone.

His breathing was deep, as his body protested against the strenuous work he was putting it through, but he didn't care. He kept moving. As he grew closer to the room at the end of the hall though, he could hear female voices seeping out through the cracked door. Though he couldn't understand what was being said, he could distinctly hear the voice of his own personal angel.

With one final push, he managed to swing the door open inwards, stumbling inside and finding himself face to face with Order, Sachiko, Chime and a very shocked Akina who appeared to be having trouble to distinguish reality from fantasy.

"Akina…" Reku swung his arms out, his pleasure mounting as his body lean towards her's, letting her know he was real.

"REKU!" She screamed out, jumping forward and into his arms, pushing him back instantly against the wall. Their lips met, rubbing together for a good long time as they took in one another's warmth. After a long while, the broke, staring into each others eyes. Taking her head in both of his hands, Reku caressed her cheeks as he smiled, happy to see her. "Where have you been?" She chocked out, fighting back her tears of joy.

"It's a long story. But in short," Reku smiled, moving his hands behind her again and pulling her to his chest, "I traveled across two worlds to find you again."

Chao peaked into the room, Gurabe standing in the hall behind him with his arms crossed. Smiling a bit, he joined Order, Chime and Sachiko as the audience to the touching scene unfolding in the corner of the small room.

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Burning Blood Rush**  
Quick-play magic  
Select one monster on the field to activate this card. Decrease the selected monsters ATK by half. During your second standby phase after you activated this card, the selected monsters ATK becomes double its original ATK.

Yukio: "This card alone holds tremendous strength. For starters, it can be used both offensively and defensively. Slashing an opponents monsters attack points in half, making them easier to destroy, or using it on your own monster can turn almost anything into a high powered bruiser. That is if you can hold onto it for that amount of time that must elapse. It has even more power thanks to the ability to be fast, its quick-play status making it so."

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	39. Duelists against the Stars part 2

Episode 39: Duelists against the Stars part 2

"Draw!" Dementia screamed out, drawing the top card of her deck and pointing towards her Curse of Vampire. "It's been two standby phases finally. Burning Blood Rush will now double its original attack strength. But then afterwards, it'll recalculate in the effect of my Contract with Red Moon, giving it an even bigger bonus!"

The Curse of Vampire began to groan, squeezing its fingers tightly into a fist as a crimson red aura sprung up around him. The blood in the monsters veins was actually visible on the outside of the monster through its pale skin. A glimmer appeared in the back of its dead eyes, giving the monster reason to curl its lips up into an evil smirk. Growing taller in its own mind, the monster stood up straight, flexing its own power before the world. (5700/800)

"Looks like it's time to finish one of you." Dementia chuckled, pointing towards Yukio. "Good bye traitor. Curse of Vampire attack him directly! Cursed Vampire Bite!"

Nodding, the monster took off like a bullet, blasting through the air. Its hair and cape whipping out behind it as it charged in full force to the now wide eyed, blue haired young man on the receiving end of the attack.

"Dammit." Yukio cursed under his breath, realizing that his field was completely empty and his life points were low. Covering his head with his arms, he prepared himself for the end.

"For my strategy to work I can't let you do that!" Kiro chimed in, drawing Dementia's head towards him. As she did, she caught him just in time to be swinging his arm across his chest, the last set card on his field lifting up with a gust of white light. "Trap card activate; Shift! With this card, I get to move an attack or a magic or trap target to another monster on our side of the field."

Inches in front of the stringy haired vampire, Kiro's face-down monster card appeared; being just in time for the vampire to sink its razor sharp fangs into the edges of it. The card instantly ignited in a slew of purple flames before vanishing. Satisfying its hunger for the turn, the Curse of Vampire flew back to Dementia's field.

"Don't think you're off the hook yet." Kiro held up the card that was just destroyed from his field. On it, a small, gray feathered owl with a golden horn was visible. "The monster you destroyed is known as Owl of Luck (300/500), and when it's flipped face-up, I get to place one field magic card from my deck on top of my deck unless I control Necrovalley on my field." Kiro motioned to the large stone walls that still encased the four duelists. "It appears I do!" Kiro gasped in mock surprise, moving instantly to his deck where he fanned through it to find a field card.

"_He saved me?"_ Yukio was in shock, finally lowering his arms from over his head. _"This guy sure stuck his neck out to save me. I hardly know him."_

"Fine, whatever darling. Try as you might," Dementia waved her arm across her body as she spoke, "nothing you can do will stop us. I end my turn."

His attention brought back to the duel at hand, Yukio nodded, moving his hand to his duel disk. "Draw!" Looking over the now seven cards in his hand, Yukio weighed all of his options for a moment. "I'll set three cards." He spoke aloud; sliding said three cards into his duel disk one at a time, each appearing one after another with a blast of light.

Revealing another card from his hand, Yukio slapped it down onto his duel disk, causing a monster to appear before him. What appeared was a horizontally turned card, with a strange black hole hovering above it. From out of the hole popped a large, green skinned monster that wriggled back and forth like a snake. The only features to this monster were the large, oval, bright orange eyes that rested at the back of its long snout. (1600/1100)

"I summon Zergo's Acid Crawler in defense mode." Yukio announced, removing his hand from the card. "And end my turn."

"Not impressive at all." Thoth mocked, drawing his next card and putting it into his hand. Pulling out a card, he pushed it delicately into his duel disk. "I start my turn setting this card face-down."

Behind the black skinned sphinx, a large brown backed card appeared. What caught everyone's attention though was what appeared next to it. A green bordered card warped into existence, glowing brightly.

"Ritual Magic card; Glorious Riches Sacrifice!" Pulling out two cards from his hand, Thoth flopped one of them over, showing his Criosphinx to everyone before it vanished into his graveyard slot. "I sacrifice my level 6 monster here in order to ritual summon my Jewel Sphinx (2300/1700) in attack mode!" Slapping the other card down, he revealed the blue bordered card of a ritual monster.

On the field before him and everyone else, a massive array of jewels appeared, spiraling into a tornado. Each jewel crashed into one another, sticking together like each was coated with glue. When the twister fell, what was left was a large sphinx shaped monster made entirely out of different colored gemstones. Roaring loudly, the monster showed its power, each of its shiny gems refracting the light of the brightly glowing three moons and the millions of stars around them.

"Now!" Slashing his arm forward, Thoth pointed to the opponent directly across from him. "Jewel Sphinx attack! Destroy his Acid Crawler!"

A mighty bound and a flexing of its jewel carved claws, the newly summoned monster came falling down on the slithery monster, crushing it under the pure weight of the monster. With a massive explosions of particles, the large lion monster was pushed instantly back to Thoth's field.

"And the end of you traitor." Thoth bellowed, sending his black skinned sphinx barreling across the field. "Direct attack!"

"Got just the thing for that." Yukio smirked, his set card flipping up. "Trap card; Quick Fix Monster! This card activates when I would be attacked directly. I get to special summon one monster with 2000 attack or less from my hand to the field, and the battle will continue!" The new monster card was pulled free from his hand, placed so carefully on a monster card zone. "I summon Zergo's Magician (2000/1600), attack mode!"

"Fool, they'll both be wiped out!" Thoth yelled, his monster still charging at full force towards Yukio. Before him, a dark skinned man wrapped up in crimson red robes appeared. Holding up his arms, the figure let his cloak dropped down to reveal his thick fingered hands, cupping them together before him. The jaws of the black skinned sphinx were caught with the magician's hands, holding off its attacker with ease as their might was the same.

"Close, but I won't allow it!" Yukio cried out, another of his set cards reacting to his call and rising up. "Quick-play magic card go! Rush Recklessly will increase my monsters attack force by 700 points!"

Smirking, the magician began to collect energy with its hands, instantly melting the rock face of the monster before it. With a mighty battle cry, the magician surrounded the attacking large cat in a blast of light, its new found might erasing the monster from the field. (2700/1600)

Kiro-2800 LP  
Yukio-2000 LP  
Dementia-3500 LP  
Thoth-2400 LP

"Fine." Thoth pulled out his deck suddenly, fanning it open. "During my second main phase, I'll activate the effect of Jewel Sphinx. By sacrificing 300 of its attack points, I can place any card I want from my deck on top of it."

The Jewel Sphinx began to let out a low, thunder like rumble from its throat. Its power started to decrease once Thoth slid his now stacked deck back into his duel disk. (2000/1700)

"I end." He spoke, watching as his opponent's Zergo's Magician began to lose its extra bonus. (2000/1600)

* * *

Joe lifted his head off of the floor where he was sleeping on his back as the door to the main room of the castle creaked open. His eyes grew wide, his voice catching in the back of his throat as he tried to put together what he was seeing. 

"R…Re…Reku!" He cried out in astonishment. Everyone in the room woke up shortly after that, either from the scream, or from the sounds of Joe's shoes hitting the ground as he bounded up from his lying position. "Is it really you dude?" He spoke as he closed the gap towards the people entering the room.

Reku, who had Akina clinging to his side for fear of losing him again, Chao and Sachiko made their way into the room, greeted first by the astounded young man. Behind them, slinking in Gurabe and Chime were ignored.

"Yes Joe." Reku smiled, reaching out and hitting Joe on the shoulder playfully. "It's really me. I'm really alive."

"But what happened to you?" Kevin came up next to Joe, just barely catching his own words. He was as astonished to see Reku as Joe was when he woke up the world. "I mean, the last anyone heard from you, you ran off to face Ronin in a duel. How did it go? Where is Ronin now?"

"Must you ask so many questions?" Gurabe growled as he plopped down in the now empty chair in the room. "It's not _that_ amazing to see him again."

Ignoring him with a shake of his head, Reku looked back at the two young men standing before him. "I…um…" Scratching his cheek as he spoke, Reku rolled his eyes off to the side to not have to make eye contact. "Lost to Ronin."

"I see." Ryokurio appeared along side Joe and Kevin, making Reku look at him and his sister who came up to his side. "And then what happened to you guys? After the duel?"

"Well," Reku began, taking a deep breath, "Ronin started to take off afterwards. He made it to his car by the time I caught up with him. Something there must have set off our crystal cards, because somehow a portal opened up and we were dumped out in this world."

"Even the car?" Usami quickly interrupted, looking from Reku to her brother, back to Reku who just nodded to confirm a 'yes'. "That would explain why Ronin's car wasn't there when we arrived. And why you guys weren't either."

"Mhm." Reku nodded again, taking a quick sweep across the faces. "We were dumped quite a ways away. We had to walk for a while before we accidentally stumbled onto Freyr and his goons. Which, after a hard fought duel with Thoth, I managed to get away thanks to randomly meeting Gurabe, Chao and Kooru." Rolling his head back, Reku took a moment to think about it before continuing with his story. "Ronin, last I saw, was in Freyr's cave. And Kooru was headed that way. So I honestly have no clue where they are now."

* * *

"Draw!" Kiro yanked the top card off of his own deck, looking at its face for a moment. "I sacrifice my Gravekeeper's Spy in order to summon Gravekeeper's Chief!" 

The robbed monster vanished in a blast of light, causing the leader of the Gravekeeper army to appear, standing proudly with his long, white and black robes adorning his body. Gripped tightly in his hands was a long, golden snake staff which he thrust forward as a sign of power before bringing it back to his chest. (1900/1200) The power of the field card around him made him cry out with power, glowing slightly for a moment as the increase took effect. (2400/1700)

"_Gravekeeper's Chief?"_ Yukio's eyes began to grow wide, lighting up with a slight idea.

"Gravekeeper's Chief makes it so our graveyards aren't off limits thanks to Necrovalley." Kiro began, holding up his duel disk and catching the card that was ejected from his graveyard slot. "I also am allowed to special summon one Gravekeeper from my graveyard to my field. I'll re-summon Gravekeeper's Spy (1700/2500), defense mode!"

Crouching down next to its re-summoned partner, the spear wielding solder also shifted into defense.

"Gravekeeper's Spear Solder also goes to defense mode." Taking his hand, Kiro pointed to the gem bodied cat that occupied Thoth's field. "Gravekeeper's Chief att…"

"Wait!" Yukio burst in, causing the demon to stop on a dime, snapping his head out towards the blue haired human he had for a partner.

"What?" He growled, slightly annoyed.

"Do you happen to have any way to power up your Gravekeeper's Chief in your hand?" Yukio hissed back, rather insulted with how his partner was talking to him. "If it's enough, we can eliminate the big threat."

Looking down, Kiro pulled out a card and showed its face to Yukio, who smirked a bit, jerking his head towards the armored Vampire that stood on Dementia's field.

"It won't be enough." Kiro growled, slowly moving to put the card back into his hand. He froze though, his hand still in mid motion. _"This kid's got something."_ Looking back up, he saw that Yukio was looking down at his hand of two cards. _"It sounds stupid, and illogical. But I'm going to trust my instinct on this one."_ Looking back to his side for a second, Kiro's eyes fell over the edge of the platform he was standing on, staring down at the gap between them and the earth below.

His Gravekeeper's Chief began to moan, a deep blue aura blasting up around its body. All of the monsters muscles began to move, massively growing as he stood there. Swiping the staff through the air, the monster created a large whistling sound to indicate the end of the aura surrounding him, watching it fade into nothingness. (4800/1700)

"Gravekeeper's Muscle Burst doubles the attack of a Gravekeeper monster on my side of the field." Kiro began, taking his hand away from the card he had just slid into his duel tray of light. Looking over for a second, he saw Yukio nod, pleased with the move. Growling a bit, Kiro jerked his arm out, pointing to Dementia's monster. "Chief attack Curse of Vampire now!"

Twirling its staff around its body once, the mighty head monster thrust it forward, sending a massive stream of pure white light bursting from the top of the staff towards the armored monster.

Laughing a bit, the armored monster cupped its hands, catching the beam of light just before it hit him, holding it off with its incredible might.

Glancing over, Kiro waited patiently while Yukio moved to his duel disk, pressing the button on the back of it.

"Trap card go!" Flipping up, the card showed a frog trapped in a lack of mirrors, reflecting its image countless times. "Mirror Trap! This card lets me take one normal trap card from our graveyard and set it on the field. Since Necrovalley's effect isn't hindering our graveyards anymore," Yukio slashed his arm across his body, pointing towards Kiro. "I chose to bring back Rising Energy! Consider this repayment for saving me earlier!"

Kiro's graveyard slot began to glow, a beam of light bursting out and racing through the air until it hit the field before Yukio, flipping up to show the image of the Rising Energy trap card.

"By discarding one card." Yukio slid a card from his hand into the graveyard, causing the new trap card to glow brightly, sending its aura over to the Gravekeeper's Chief. Binding around him, it formed a burning yellow aura that surrounded him. "The attack points of one monster on the field increase by 1500."

Moaning with power, the white robbed monster began to go up in attack, causing the beam of light he was shooting from his staff to increase in size. (6300/1700)

Eyes growing wide, the green haired vampire lost control of the attack he was once able to contain, watching it spill through his fingers and land directly onto his body. Cracking his armor instantly, the attack got inside, causing the monster to slowly begin to turn into streams of black smoke, drifting away from the remaining body. Seconds later, the Curse of Vampire exploded, sending dirt, black smoke and embers rolling across the field.

Kiro-2800 LP  
Yukio-2000 LP  
Dementia-2900 LP  
Thoth-2400 LP

"Oh, and," Yukio began to speak just before another red haired behemoth appeared on his field, grunting and slamming its fists together. "The monster I discarded to Rising Energy happened to be another Zergo's Rage Behemoth (2000/800)."

"Darlings," Dementia smirked as she held up her duel disk, showing her life score blinking before dropping.

Kiro-2800 LP  
Yukio-2000 LP  
Dementia-2400 LP  
Thoth-2400 LP

"I pay 500 life points to use the special effect of my Curse of Vampire. He'll be back." Dementia lowered her duel disk, her sharp fangs peaking over her pale lips. "Trust me."

"Dammit." Kiro cursed under his breath, taking one of the two remaining cards out of his hand and sliding it into the side of the duel tray of light. "I activate my field card I searched with Owl of Luck. Go: Djeser-Djeseru!"

Behind Kiro, a large stone temple began to rise out of the air. It seem to embed itself into a wall that raced across its back, slamming into the side walls of the valley that was already there. Glowing in a strange, yellow light, the temple was three stories tall. Large, circular pillars supported each floor and created rectangle archways, stretching from one end all the way to the other. Front and center, a large ramp of stair rose up to the top of the first floor, which was protruding out. The top two floors were indented in from that point.

"This card counts as Necrovalley for all purposes." Kiro began, making a verbal note to all the players. "Meaning my Gravekeeper's still keep their 500 point bonus, your graveyards are off limits, and ours aren't thanks to Chief." Kiro swung his arm across his body. "I'm done with my turn now."

As he spoke, his monster lowered its golden staff to its side, the aura around it fading finally as its attack points and muscles returned to their original state. (2400/1700)

"You foolish beings." Dementia smirked, drawing her next card and adding it to her hand. "Since I paid the cost, my Curse of Vampire returns to the field now." Yanking up the card her graveyard spit out, she slapped it back down onto her duel disk. "And he gains a bonus for coming back!"

Moaning with power, the monster squeezed its fists tightly together. A black aura raced over its blue armor as it did. Smirking a bit, the monster looked up, a murderous look gleaming in its eye. (2500/800)

"_Five hundred extra attack points."_ Kiro observed, watching the armored monster fall back down to a level spot before Dementia. His eyes shifted only for a second to glare at his duel disk and back up. _"I'm in the lead in life points, and my field is filled with good walls. So far we managed to turn the tides of this game."_ Narrowing his brow a bit, he glared at the purple skinned monster that stood across from him. _"And I plan to keep it this way. Once I defeat these two, I'm going to rip that bitch's head off!"_ Clenching his own fist as he thought about it, he began to bare his fangs, growl slightly, though not loudly. _"She'll pay for what she did to Kaira."_

"Now let's see." Dementia looked down, yanking a card from her hand and sliding it into her duel disk. "Let's try this, shall we. Equip magic card: Spreading Vampirism Bite. This card will infect any monster mine destroys, making them creatures of the night."

Aiming her long finger nail at the white robed monster resting on Kiro's field, she smirked darkly.

"Oh, and an additional 500 points is going to be given to my monster." She threw in at the last second before yelling out: "Curse of Vampire attack Gravekeeper's Chief! Destroy his soul!"

With ease, the monster went bursting across the field, its power rising as it went. (3000/800). Within no time at all, the monster had sunk its fangs into the shoulder bone of the mighty monster, causing it to scream in pain. Its skin began to mutate, turning a sick shade of purple. Its eyes became drained, as it slowly vanished from the field.

Kiro-2200 LP  
Yukio-2000 LP  
Dementia-2400 LP  
Thoth-2400 LP

By the time the Curse of Vampire had made its way back to Dementia's field, the Gravekeeper's Chief was already there, crouching down over its own card. Its body was still the sickly purple color, and its limbs drained of all life. (950/1200) (1450/1700)

"My equipment card will put all monsters destroyed by my Curse of Vampire onto my field, making them zombie monsters. They lose half of their original attack score though. But since he's a Gravekeeper though, he'll still retain the bonus from your own field card." Dementia explained, motioning to the defending monster. "I end my turn."

"About time it got back to my turn." Yukio scoffed, drawing the top card from his deck. Looking down, he gazed over his new option. _"About time you showed up."_ He smirked, putting the card into his hand before pointing to his crimson robbed monster. "Zergo's Magician effect activates. Sacrificing its ability to attack for a turn, I get to activate one magic card of my choice from my deck." With a wave of his hand, Yukio had his deck out, fanned open and a card pulled from deep inside of it, sliding it into his duel disk. "Go Pot of Greed!"

Yanking two cards from his deck, Yukio put them into his hand, looking up as he moved his hand to his duel disk, swiping up the two cards that he had resting there in one quick motion. Upon his field, the two monsters began to glow, turning into beams of energy that clashed together, spiraling up into the air.

"I sacrifice Zergo's Magician and Zergo's Rage Behemoth to summon the god of my deck!" Slapping down one of the cards in his hand, Yukio couldn't help but whip his arm upwards as the beam of light came blasting down behind him. Dying out only to leave a massive, blue skinned monster concealing most of its features behind a long, fine silk black robe it wrapped around itself. A vile look emanated off of the beasts two, murderous red eyes as it grinned, baring its sets of blood coated fangs. (3500/3500) "Zergo!" Snapping its head back instantly after its name was written through the air with Yukio's call, the beast preceded to let out a blood curdling roar from deep in its throat.

"_Yup,"_ Kiro nodded to himself, gazing over at the massive monster that now stood behind its master. _"This kid does seem to have a functioning Zergo deck. Very rare indeed. I'll have to give him credit for it when this duel is done."_

"Zergo attack!" Yukio blasted his arm forward from its place locked in the air, aiming his hand towards Dementia's monster. "Wipe that thing out yet again! Hell's Dark Flame!"

The cape was whipped to the side, a powerful, clawed hand swiping the material aside. As he did, the other hand came jutting forward, aiming like a gun towards the vampire monster. Joined a second later by the other hand, the beast began to form a spiraling ball of flames.

With a roar of the monster, a blast of flames shot out of the spiraling ball it was forming. Like a flowing river, the flames spewed diagonally across the field, engulfing the armored monster, melting it away instantly.

Kiro-2200 LP  
Yukio-2000 LP  
Dementia-1900 LP  
Thoth-2400 LP

"You think your hot darling." Dementia spoke, waving her hand in front of her to clear away the smoke that billowed off of the spot her vampire once stood. "Well guess what, you haven't gotten rid of the curse just yet! I'll pay 500 life points to bring it back during my next standby phase!"

Kiro-2200 LP  
Yukio-2000 LP  
Dementia-1400 LP  
Thoth-2400 LP

"Doesn't matter." Yukio smirked, pulling out a card from his hand and sliding it into his duel disk. "Zergo is far too strong for your weak vampires to deal with. Learn it and learn it well. He will dominate you completely!" The set card appeared before Yukio's feet. "I set one card and end my turn."

"Draw." Thoth was calm, pulling the top card off of his deck and adding it to his hand. _"Good, just like I planned."_

Two of Thoth's four cards were ripped out, flashed towards the opponents. They were two monster cards, fanned out into a V shape. Andro Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia were written plain as day across the top of them.

"I activate my trap card: Pyramid of Light!" Thoth bellowed out, his set card flipping up to show a pyramid of solid energy, glowing brightly for a second. "By paying 500 points each, I can special summon these two monsters to my field!"

Kiro-2200 LP  
Yukio-2000 LP  
Dementia-1400 LP  
Thoth-1400 LP

Sliding the two cards onto his duel tray one at a time, Thoth began to laugh to himself as before him, two large beasts appeared simultaneously, blowing their mighty battle cries across the starry heavens.

The Andro Sphinx was a large, brown haired, lion-looking monster, standing on its two hind legs. Bluish-green armor adorned its limbs, and a lion like main set off its face. (3000/2500)

Sphinx Teleia was also sphinx looking, though this one was standing proudly on all four of its long legs. It hair was short, and dark gray in color. Jutting out of its back, two long, golden feathered wings appeared, flapping slightly, blowing the dark red hair that was coming out of her human looking face. (2500/3000)

"Magic card," Thoth slid out one of the two remaining cards, pushing it into his duel disk in an empty magic and trap card zone. "Emergency Provisions will destroy my Pyramid of Light, and give me back 1000 life points for doing so." Shattering like glass, the trap card vaporized itself off of the field instantly, causing Thoth's two, newly summoned monster to also shatter. Their data bits floated around the area, spiraling together and collecting into a ball before Thoth. "And when my Pyramid of Light is destroyed, both Andro Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia are destroyed."

Kiro-2200 LP  
Yukio-2000 LP  
Dementia-1400 LP  
Thoth-2400 LP

"_He must be pretty stupid to destroy his own monsters life that, just for 1000 life points."_ Yukio smirked, thinking to himself. His smile though instantly dropped once the collection of data bits began to reform, taking a new, much larger shape.

"Sacrificing 500 life points," Thoth began to speak, pulling out his deck of cards and fanning it open. From it, he pulled out a card and slapped it down onto his duel disk. "When both Andro Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia are destroyed at the same time, I can special summon Theinen the Great Sphinx!" (3500/3000)

Kiro-2200 LP  
Yukio-2000 LP  
Dementia-1400 LP  
Thoth-19000 LP

A horrible chimera of the two previous monsters on Thoth's field appeared, roaring loudly from its mouths as its body slowly drifted down before Thoth. Clenching its fists, it pulled them back to its sides in a display of power. A massive aura began to glow around him, swirling into a vortex of energy.

Kiro-2200 LP  
Yukio-2000 LP  
Dementia-1400 LP  
Thoth-1400 LP

"With 500 more points," Thoth held up his duel disk, showing his opponent's his life score going down, "I can increase the attack power of my Theinen by 3000 points!" (6500/3000)

Cracking its fists together, the large sphinx monster took a threatening step forward, placing its paw onto an invisible platform in the air. Growling like a wild animal, the beast glared down the large, blue skinned monster who tried to rival it in power.

"It looks like the end for one of you." Thoth pointed to the blue haired duelist, smirking darkly as he did. _"And it'll put me one step closer to getting that medallion off that wannabe demon scum."_ "Theinen attack! Destroy Zergo now!"

Bounding out, the large feline-like monster raced though the air. Hands colliding as the two behemoths met in battle high over Yukio's head, each roaring out their battle cries as they tried to over power one another. Though it was obvious that Theinen was winning, pushing the demonic beast back, and twisting his arms to make the large beast slink down to one of its muscled knees.

"It won't end this way." Yukio cried out, whipping his arm across his body. Just as he did, Zergo behind him exploded into a fiery death, causing Theinen to backtrack through the air to Thoth's field.

When the smoke began to clear, Thoth slowly started to grow angry, seeing Yukio standing there, panting heavily, but still standing. Lifting his head, Yukio smirked, his duel disk adjusting his life point score.

Kiro-2200 LP  
Yukio-500 LP  
Dementia-1400 LP  
Thoth-1400 LP

"How?!" Thoth bellowed out. Had he waited just a couple of seconds, he could have seen why himself. As the smoke cleared, a purple bordered card became visible upright just in front of Yukio.

"Zergo's Damage Force Field." Yukio stated, the said card wiping off the field in a sweep of particles. "This card will halve all battle damage done to me as a result of a battle involving a Zergo monster. So instead of the 3000 points you hoped to deal me, you only dealt 1500."

Suddenly, a blast of sparks and flames spiraled up behind Yukio, causing him to smirk with malice in his lips. The hideous monster returned to its place on the field, but this time it was different. Now it had a set of devil horns erupting from the top of its skull and two longer, blood soaked fangs hanging from his upper lip. The almost now black skin of the monster was only illuminated by a red glow from the monsters blood thirsty eyes. Two gray scaled wings had burst from out of the back of the monster, flapping every once and a while. Gale force winds rushed through the valley because of this. Cranking its circular head back, the monster let out a blood curdling roar, bouncing off of the rock walls to escalate it ferocity. (4000/4000)

"Oh and," Yukio pretended to be shocked, almost as if he had _actually_ forgotten what was happening. "When Zergo is removed from the field, Zergo's True Form is special summoned."

"Dammit." Thoth looked down at the single card he held in his hand. Growling a bit, he looked back up, bringing his attention over to Kiro's field. "Jewel Sphinx attack his Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier!"

Snarling, the monster took one giant leap, covering the gap between his field and Kiro's, landing on top of the warrior monster, crushing it instantly into data bits, slowly floating away from the battle.

"I end my turn." Thoth growled, his monster returning to his side of the field.

(Theinen the Great Sphinx 3500/3000)

* * *

"So you wish to be buried here," Freyr waved his arm around, motioning to the damp, dark walls of the cave that surrounded them, "here among all the rocks. Here, the place where I was forced to spend 10,000 years while you frolic and played outside in your hosts' body." Freyr turned his mock inviting voice sour as he spoke, turning all three of his eyes upon the silver haired demon that stood before him. 

"_There is no way I can face him now and still hope to win."_ Kooru puffed out his chest, smirking at how riled up Freyr was getting. "No, I believe I came here to seal you back up in this cave for all eternity."

"You talk big." Freyr waved his arm again, motioning over the pile of crystals he had lying on the ground. "But you already know you're too late. Unless you are really so pathetic of a demon that you can't even sense it."

"Oh don't worry," Kooru's eyes narrowed as a bead of sweat went racing down the side of his cheek. "I can feel it."

He could too. He didn't dare take his eyes off of the red skinned monster that stood before him, but he could feel the incredible aura that was around each of the crystal shards in the area.

"But, what good will this do you? You know that if that power gets out, not even you can survive." Kooru frowned, watching as Freyr turned, still keeping his pupil of his third eye on Kooru, watching from out of its corner.

"That doesn't matter in my case." Freyr began to speak, bending down and picking up one of the crystal shards. "Though you may not understand that, do you Kooru. We've fought a long time, yet you probably don't even understand what I'm trying to do."

"No, I really don't." Kooru admitted, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "Why not explain it to me? What is the point of having all these shards of the crystal in their most rawest form of energy?"

"Kooru," the crystal slipped out of Freyr's fingers, falling slowly to the ground. As it fell into the pile, black sparks of lightning blasted out, spiraling up to attack Freyr's hand, but fell short. "We are all pawns in the larger game of chess."

Ronin heard about all he wanted to, slowly slipping out of the cave while the two demons, and Tal, were engaged in the conversation. Rounding the side of the cave entrance, Ronin began to make his way across the grassy hills that lay out before him.

Freyr stood up, turning back so his face could see Kooru fully. Smirking, he began to flex his muscles, showing off his power as the dark crimson colored aura began to flow around him.

"But I will not be stopped until this pawn becomes a king!" Freyr let off a surge of energy, growling deep in his throat before laughing a bit. "As you can see Kooru, I have regained solid movement, and a good chunk of my power. So once again, you don't stand a chance to beat me."

"No, I don't." Kooru smirked just before vanishing into thin air. Tal blinked a few times, not being able to see Kooru leaving, but Freyr had seen the whole thing, letting his aura die down as there was no need to be boasting now.

"He'll be back." Freyr smirked, turning his attention back to the crystals. "I just wonder if this is going to be enough. I'm making them into the raw energy that I know they are going to need, but do I have enough of the crystal?"

"_I've worked under both Chaos and Freyr. Both after this crystal, both wanting something to do with this crystal."_ Tal narrowed his eyes, looking at the pile of jewels that were laying on the floor. _"Yet I've never been offered the power of one of those crystals. I truly have to wonder what it is like."_

* * *

Kooru found himself standing on top of the odd rock formation, looking back down over the side to see if Freyr was going to make a mad dash outwards. He felt slightly disappointed when he didn't see nor feel his opponent coming.

"This place is masked so much in his own aura, he didn't even realize what was buried right on top of his head." Kooru spoke to himself, placing a hand on the top of the rock formation at the very top of the cave. Within moments, Kooru had crushed the top stones as if they were made of sand, revealing a wrapped handles of a sword. Taking it firmly in both hands, Kooru began to free the weapon from is tomb. Pulling the black metal bladed sword free from is stone imprisonment, Kooru whipped it through the air, holding it up to the light of the three moons. All around it, a red aura seemed to flow, offsetting the shiny black metal against the razors edge of the sword. "Here you are."

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Jewel Sphinx**  
2300/1700/6/Light/Rock  
This card can only be Ritual Summoned with the Ritual Magic Card, "Glorious Riches Sacrifice". Once during your turn, decrease this monsters ATK by 300 to select 1 card from your deck and remove it. Shuffle your deck and place the selected card on top of it face-down.

Thoth: "Jewel Sphinx is a ritual monster that serves two real purposes. The first and most obvious one is that it provides raw power. Starting at 2300, this monster can wipe out a lot of threats an opponent might try to place before me. The other is the power to fairly stack my deck. This allows me the power to pull off any and all combos I may want, as I'll have the right cards. The only down side to that is that it will weaken my monster 300 attack points each time. It is still worth it though."

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	40. Duelists against the Stars part 3

Episode 40: Duelists against the Stars part 3

With a yank of his hand, Kiro freed the top card of his deck, his jewel like eyes surveying its face while his mind pondered the field. All he had out was his Gravekeeper's Spy (1700/2500) in defense mode, boosted thanks to his field card; Djeser-Djeseru.

His partner however had Zergo's True Form (4000/4000) towering high overhead behind him. That set them for attack points.

Their opponents how ever had Theinen the Great Sphinx (3500/3000), Jewel Sphinx (2000/1700) and Dementia had his Gravekeeper's Chief that she stole off of him in defense mode. (1450/1700)

None of them had any cards in the back row, at the moment anyways.

"I set this face-down." Kiro cried out, sliding the card into his duel disk so that it materialized behind his crouching Gravekeeper. Not showing his frustration at a bad top deck, Kiro looked up. "I end my turn with that."

"Draw!" Dementia pulled the top card off of her deck, adding it to her hand. "And since I paid for it, return to me Curse of Vampire!" (2500/800) The stringy, green haired vampire card appeared flying through the air, landing on its horizontally turned card, crouching down. Its armor clanked as it rubbed together. Crossing its arms, the monster did its best to shield itself. Its cape within its claws, the monster wrapped it around it for a shell. "I end my turn." She growled, not showing her poker face as much as Kiro.

"_It looks like I'm in control of this duel."_ Yukio smirked, placing his hand on the top of his deck. "Draw!"

Roaring, knowing his master's intent, the large, devil beast towering over Yukio began to form a gigantic ball of flames between its cupped hands. The embers slipping out through the spread fingers of the beast, drifted through the air before evaporating into the night.

"Seems this is over for one of us." Yukio's twisted smile only seemed to be empowered by the position he was standing in. "Here we go. Zergo's True Form attack," thrusting his arm out, Yukio's index finger came to rest upon the jeweled body monster standing in front of the Egyptian demon. "Jewel Sphinx! Eternal Flames of Hell!"

"Damn you." Thoth cursed aloud, watching the large monster continue to expand the sun of flames in its grasp. "Just a little more and I could have taken it from you." His attention shifted, looking over at Kiro. "I figured as much, and I'm right, aren't I? It's the crystal that keeps you intact as a demon." Laughing a bit, he brought his head back just in time to see the massive ball of flames come bursting out of the beasts grips, hurdling towards him. "It doesn't matter. Lord Freyr has a plan. And regardless of how this turns out, he will win in the end. He is superior to all."

Slamming into the beast before him, the ball of flames engulfed the beast whole, quickly melting the monster. Dripping off, the monster's gems in liquid form instantly dissolved into a rain of data bits. One final roar escaped the created monsters mouth before it, along with the giant Theinen besides him, shattered into a million pieces.

"It's over." Yukio, unphazed by what Thoth had said, let his arm drop.

The air was filled suddenly with a loud beeping. It was slow and painful for Thoth to hear, each life point being ripped out of his life.

Kiro-2200 LP  
Yukio-500 LP  
Dementia-1400 LP  
Thoth-0 LP

Kiro didn't have to wait to see what was happening; his sensitive hearing picked up on it. He could hear it, the rock cracking inside. He watched in horror as the platform Thoth was standing on started shaking, large cracks spider webbing across the top, bottom and even across the thin sides. Shattering, the platform gave way, almost in slow motion to the other three duelists. In an instant, the Egyptian demon that had stood there was falling. Downward he plummeted, speed picking up as he fell. He didn't fight, he didn't flail about. He just stayed stiff and stern the whole way.

"_If we lose…"_ Kiro brought his head back up, looking at Yukio who was a bit scared. His human instinct taking over. He kept most of his composure on the outside, but Kiro could smell the fear growing inside. _"We fall to our deaths."_ Looking over, even Dementia was looking over the edge of her platform, a bit shocked at the sudden extra rule added to the game. _"She didn't know either."_

"That makes this more interesting." Dementia leaned back, checking her duel disk to look at her life point score. She was hovering at 1400, but she suddenly felt the value of each point now.

Yukio though only had 500 life points. He swallowed hard, looking down at the three cards he held in his hand. _"I shouldn't have been so reckless with my life points."_ He realized before looking up. Forcing past the lump in his throat, he managed to spit out: "I end my turn."

"I guess," Kiro began, holding up his duel disk and placing his fingers on the top card. "Since I went after Thoth, and he's no longer in this, it's my turn now. Draw." Pulling the top card of his deck off, Kiro frowned a bit at what he had. _"I'm not getting any of my monsters."_ Looking over at the one card he held in his hand, Kiro pondered before sliding the new card into his duel disk. "I set this card face-down, ending my turn."

"Draw." Dementia had her confidence restored, seeing that Kiro didn't mind the situation. Not about to be upstaged by any half demon, Dementia's eyes scanned over the face of the card she now held.

"_When I win, this bitch dies."_ Kiro smirked, twisting his lips into a cruel grin. _"You will pay for what you did to Kaira."_

"Oh darling." Dementia pulled a card from her hand, holding it up while an additional sixth slot popped out of the end of her duel disk. "I'll fix the field problem, okay?" Slapping the card into the slot, it retracted back into her duel disk, causing the device to hum and hiss. "Welcome to Immortal Kingdom Hellvania!"

What appeared, shattering the rock walls around them like glass, was a large, shaded old house rising up behind Dementia. It was the kind of house you'd expect to see in a horror movie, complete with a wolf howling in the back ground and a group of bats racing from the top tip of the roof. Coming forward, the group of bats began to group together, forming a much larger bat that hovered above Dementia's head.

"And I play my Vampire Bats (800/800), in attack mode!" Dementia gloated, showing off her new monster.

(Gravekeeper's Chief 950/1200)(Gravekeeper's Spy 1200/2000)

"Here is what I bet you didn't expect." Kiro held up his Djeser-Djeseru card, sliding it into his graveyard. A few seconds later, another card was spit out, which he grabbed up and flipped over to show it was his Necrovalley card. "When my field card goes to the grave, Necrovalley is returned to my hand."

"Here is what I bet _you_ didn't know darling." Dementia motioned to her monsters, which were all glowing in a dark light. "Vampire Bats increases the attack of all Zombie type monsters on my side of the field by 200 points."

(Gravekeeper's Chief 1150/1200)(Curse of Vampire 2700/800)(Vampire Bats 1000/800)

"Oh, but that's not all I bet you didn't count on darling." Dementia flicked over another card from her hand, showing it to be her Vampire Lady (1550/1550). "By discarding one zombie-type monster on each of our respective turns, we can use the power of Immortal Kingdom Hellvania to destroy all monsters on the field."

"WHAT?!" Yukio screamed out, looking over at the vampire just in time to watch her dispose of the card into her graveyard. "Damn you!"

"That's a little cheap." Kiro protested, more calmly that his partner.

"Your right, it is." Dementia smirked, pulling another card out from her hand, sliding it into her duel disk while she spoke. "You see, if I we use the effect of my castle, we can't normal summon this turn."

"But you've already normal summoned." Kiro, again, protested, watching as the magic card Dementia had just played appear before her.

"I did," she nodded in agreement, "so I'm going to have to play this, right darling? Immortal for Eternity works while I have an Immortal Kingdom Hellvania face-up on the field. I can normal summon before using the effect of my Kingdom, or after its effect. But either way, I can do both in the same turn." The castle began to glow along with the magic card before her.

A pulse wave came bursting from the base of the house, racing over the entire field, shattering all the monster on it. Even Yukio's large, demonic pet wasn't strong enough to resist the blast, cracking apart instantly.

"I activate the effect of my Vampire Bats." Dementia called out, fanning open her deck and pulling a card from it. "By sending 1 monster of the same name from my deck to my graveyard, I can keep my Vampire Bats on the field."

"No way!" Yukio's face fell, realizing he was defenseless. His status at the top of the ant hill just gave way as his mountain crumbled.

"I'll finish you first dear." Dementia pointed to the blue haired man, who was now frozen in terror. "This seems to be a grudge between this demonic abomination and myself. So…good bye." Swiping her hand down, the large bat went flying out from above her head, hitting Yukio in his chest.

Kiro-2200 LP  
Yukio-0 LP  
Dementia-1400 LP

The stone slab crumbled and fell to earth, but Yukio already was falling, haven been knocked off by the fierce attack, sending him free falling downwards towards the earth at high speeds.

"You sick and twisted bitch." Kiro growled, bringing his attention back up to the duel at hand.

"Oh come on darling, don't be like that." Dementia waved her hand, unaffected by the human's death. "You originally wanted a piece of me. So now it's just the two of us."

"But you killed him so mercilessly! You have no conscience!"

"It's the same as how humans handle things." Demtnia shot back, cutting off Kiro's rant. "If a human commits a murder, they in turn murder the murder. It's the endless cycle your old kind liked to call 'justice'. I just acted the judge, condemning him to death for murdering Thoth without a second thought. In fact, I vaguely remember him laughing just before he did it."

"He didn't know what was going to happen!"

"But he still did it."

Growling, Kiro realized this battle wasn't going to get anywhere. Dementia, seeing that Kiro wasn't going to say anything else, pulled a card from her hand, sliding it into her duel disk.

"I set this card face-down, finishing my turn."

Drawing his next card, Kiro only growled as his announcement of doing so. Glaring at the cards face before palming it, pulling one of the two cards he already held in his hand. "I activate my Necrovalley again!"

Rushing up around them again, the two remaining duelists were trapped inside the large stone valley. The dark house shuddered being in a new surrounding, no accepting it, the house shattered into a million data bits as Dementia's duel tray ejected the card.

"I then activate," Kiro flipped up his palmed card, sliding it into his duel disk, "Card of Demise. This lets me draw cards until I'm holding five. Since I have one, I'll take four more."

Sliding his hand over his duel disk, Kiro freed a clump of card from his deck, fanning them out to show he was holding four. Scanning their faces, he looked back up to Dementia and her gigantic bat monster.

"In five turns, I must discard my entire hand." Kiro continued to explain his Card of Demise as he moved the new cards to his hand. Flipping one of them out he slapped it down onto his duel disk. "I summon Gravekeeper's Cannonholder (1400/1200) in attack mode!"

What appeared before Kiro was another tan skinned monster wrapped in black silk robs. Crouching down, he hoisted a large, red wood cannon onto his shoulder, aiming the barrel at the large creature of the night before him. All around him, a faint glow appeared for a few seconds, the power of the field card surging through his blood. (1900/1700)

"Cannonholder attack!" Kiro bellowed out, snapping his arm forward to the large black monster. "Grave Cannon!"

Reeling back, the monster blasted out a large ball of flaming energy, smashing into the chest of the bat. It engulfed it for a few moments before subsiding, leaving the large bat still flying above the purple skinned woman's head.

Kiro-2200 LP  
Dementia-500 LP

"I discard my third Vampire Bats from my deck," Dementia called out, just sliding her deck back into her duel disk, "to negate the destruction of the one on the field."

"Fine." Kiro growled, lowering his hand. "I end my turn."

"Good." Dementia smirked, drawing her top card, and flicking it over seconds after seeing it. "Perfect! I sacrifice my Vampire Bats in order to summon Vampire Lord (2000/1500) in attack mode!" Vaporizing into a beam of light, the large bat suddenly became a pale skinned man with long, stringy green hair covering most of its face. Smirking, the monster bared its razor sharp fangs as its thrust its body outwards, puffing up its chest inside the dark purple suit it wore. It cape flowed out behind it dramatically before settling down against its back again. "Fear my king of the night!"

"Nope, don't fear it." Kiro spoke, knowing he was going to piss off the vampire. But it didn't matter, he was already overly enraged at her.

"You will. Vampire Lord attack!"

Bounding forward, the Vampire Lord made it to Kiro's field in a short amount of time, sinking its long fangs into the unprotected monsters' throat. Screaming in pain, the monster dropped its cannon, grasping the head of the vampire with both hands trying to pull the monster out of him. He finally succeeded, but it was to late, as he collapsed, shattering into a million data bits.

Kiro-2100 LP  
Dementia-500 LP

"Oh and darling," Dementia called out as her monster floated backwards to her side of the field again. "My Vampire Lord requires you to discard one card from your deck of the type I chose when he inflicts damage. I think I'll call; Magic!"

Kiro flicked his deck out of his duel disk, fanning it open and looking through it. Making a quick decision, he pulled out his Gravekeeper's Servant, showing it to Dementia before depositing it into his graveyard.

"Good." She nodded, smiling her twisted smile as she did. "I'm finish with my turn."

"Draw." Kiro yanked the top card from his newly shuffled deck, gazing over its face before making his next move.

"You don't seem scared. Aren't you afraid of what happen when you lose?" Dementia gloated, watching as Kiro added the card to his hand.

"Not at all." He spoke, looking up at her. "You act as if this is the first time I've ever been in a duel where my life was on the line."

"Point taken darling." Dementia chuckled, a bit, but Kiro kept his razor sharp gaze upon her.

"But you will suffer in the end." Flicking out a card, Kiro slid it into his duel disk. "I have this duel right here. I set this card face-down, ending my turn."

"_End the duel huh?"_ Dementia smirked, having a vague idea of what Kiro was planning to do. "Fine, end it. I draw!" Dementia slid the top card off of her deck, flicking it up and glaring at its face for a few seconds before Kiro interrupted her.

"I will!" Kiro's newest set card flipped up, glowing brightly for a second. "Trap activate! Rite of Spirit! This card lets me revive one of my monsters from the graveyard and place it on the field. And this card can bypass the power of Necrovalley to let me do this."

A tan monster in black robes came flying out of a geyser of sparks, twirling its Shepard's can around its body before snapping it forward like a magic wand, showering Dementia in a rain of toxic green colored droplets.

"I re-summon Gravekeeper's Curse (800/800), and when I do, you lose 500 life points. This game is done!"

"So close!" Dementia cried out, sliding her arm through the air. Her own set trap card flipped up, showing a large gun on a pedestal, rigged up with wires to shoot at the two men who were invading the room. "My set Barrel Behind the Door will reflect all effect damage I receive back to your life points. So I'm not done yet." Smirking she let her hand fall as the rain suddenly stopped, the trap card glowing before it shot out a bullet of light that traveled the distance between them in the blink of an eye. Crashing into Kiro's upheld arms, which he had whipped up for a shield, the blast plumbed off into smoke, twisting around his body.

Kiro-1600 LP  
Dementia-500 LP

"Fine." Kiro growled, his monster hovering down to his field, where below him his own horizontally turned card appeared. "I re-summon my monster in defense mode." (1300/1300)

"I figured you would try and just burn my life points off, seeing as they are so low." Dementia slid the card into her graveyard slot, having successfully stopped Kiro's assault. Looking back at her hand, she gazed up on the cards she was holding. "Not bad. I'll start this turn by setting this card face-down!"

A flicker of lights appeared behind the large vampire, materializing the set card. Crouching down, the Vampire sprang forward when his master whipped her arm forward.

"Go!" She cried, just in time to watch her monster sink its fangs into the neck of Kiro's Gravekeeper's Curse, shattering it into a million data bits. "Ending my turn there, darling.

"Draw!" Kiro yanked the top card from his deck, flipping it over to view the face. Smirking, Kiro slapped it down onto his duel disk instantly, causing it to appear as a card before him. "I summon myself! Come forth; Gravekeeper Kiro!"

Slamming its arms and head back gallantly as it flew over the demon's head, Gravekeeper Kiro (1800/1100) hovered through the air, landing on the field before its master. The two had a quality about them that one could see they were indeed similar. The green hair fell down just over the monsters eyes. His rock hard jaw carved into a frown as he flexed the muscles on his shirtless torso. Baggy black and white silk pants like the other Gravekeeper's had was the only source of clothing the monster had.

Glowing for a moment, the monster inherited the power of the field card around him, gaining strength. (2300/1600)

"See my former human self. Or at least a good picture of what I used to look like." Kiro motioned to the creature before nodding at the vampire monster that was to be its target. "Attack!"

"You monster wouldn't dare." Dementia chuckled, whipping her arm through the air so that her set card knew to flip upwards, glowing brightly. "It wouldn't dare attack its master."

"Master?" Kiro looked quizzically at the vampire, noticing his monster hadn't moved once she said that. Looking over, she saw his monster barely holding itself up. Its arms hung limp before its crouching over body, staring down the long gap towards the ground.

"Yes, I reveal my trap card. Eyes of the Master!" The eyes of the Vampire Lord began to glow ghastly white, causing the monster to twist his face into an ill grin. "This card equips to a zombie monster with 2000 attack or more. Then, by destroying my Eyes of the Master, I can negate 1 battle against that monster and lower the offender's stats by 600 points."

"You can do what?!" Kiro clenched his fist, watching his avatar grow weaker before his eyes. (1700/1000)

"I can win this!" Dementia cried out before drawing her card. "It's my turn!" Kiro nodded, indicating he was done.

Without a moment's hesitation, Dementia swung her arm around her body, aiming it towards the slouched over monster. Her long fingernail mentally piercing right through the chest of the monster she was pointing at.

"Vampire Lord attack!"

"Dammit." Kiro growled, slashing his arm across his body. "I activate my set trap; Dead Spirit Zoma!" Flipping up, one of Kiro's two traps spit out a purple, dead-looking dragon monster, hissing from its rotted jaw. Green smoke spewed out of its mouth as it curled up, hiding behind its large, sharp claws and skinless wings. (1800/500) "My Zoma is a Trap Monster, summoning himself from my magic and trap zone to my monster zone in defense mode."

"So what? It won't save your Gravekeeper. Continue your attack my monster!" Dementia ordered, throwing a cackle behind it. Her monster never wavered, flying like a dart dead straight towards the monster.

"This is what." Pressing the button on his duel disk, the last card on his side of the field flipped up, shining with a bright light before fading to show the purple boarder of a trap card. On the image, a Mechanicalchaser was being attacked by a beam of red light. But in the background a cannon soldier was shooting its own white energy beam towards the oncoming attack. "I activate my trap card; Covering Fire!"

"No way!" Dementia's eyes grew wide; her laugh suddenly vaporizing into the nothing as she watched Kiro's two monsters began to glow in a faint, purple light.

"Covering Fire works when one of my monsters is attacked. I can increase the attack points of that monster, by the points of one other face-up monster on my field." Flicking his arm forward, he pointed to the purple skinned dragon. "Zoma, give your power to my Gravekeeper Kiro!" (3500/1000)

Racing in still, the Vampire Lord swooped down, sinking its fangs into the defenseless monster's neck. Seconds later, the Vampire Lord looked as if he had lost all of his breath, the wind knocked out of him. In his gut, Gravekeeper Kiro's fist was planted, pushing hard against the stomach of the vampire.

Looking up, the Vampire Lord saw a spark of flames burning in the reddish eyes of the Gravekeeper. A will to fight that he had thought the monster had lost. Grabbing his stomach, the monster tried to pull the fist out, but it was no good. Strength failing on him, the monster shattered into a million data bits.

Kiro-1600 LP  
Dementia-0 LP

"I win, you bitch." Kiro hissed, watching the wide mouth Dementia stare at the spot her monster just was. She couldn't believe what had just transpired before her. In her state of such shock, she didn't realize the platform beneath her had filled with cracks, slowly falling apart under her feet. "Now you will pay for what you did to Kaira."

Kiro got one final glimpse of Dementia, the platform shattering below her and her body starting to fall through the air before his vision was blinded by a strange, white light. His body becoming energy, shooting like a star through the air before colliding against a hill, sending the green haired demon rolling down the other side. Landing on his back, Kiro gazed up at the starry sky above, a smile creasing his pale skin.

"For you Kaira. That bitch is dead."

Falling through the air, Dementia took a second to collect herself before righting herself off, floating there staring at the air before her.

"I guess the Egyptians never planned on anyone being able to fly." Dementia brushed off her shoulder as she spoke, holding up her arm so that her duel disk shut down. Pulling out her deck, she glared at it. "How in the hell did I lose?"

Sighing, she let her arm fall back to her side. Her eyes closed for a second while she took a deep breath.

"Looks like I'd better report back in to Master Freyr."

Slowly, she started to glide off through the air, heading for the large rock formation in the distance.

* * *

Glinting in the light of the moons, the oil black blade of the sword Kooru now held tightly in his grasp was swung through the air, cutting the wind in two as it moved to Kooru's side. Smiling a bit, Kooru looked down at the weapon before lifting his head up to stare at the fields before him. 

"With this I can beat Freyr." He spoke to himself, staring blanking into space. "I can finally save this world, and the human world."

His prideful speech was cut short, his eyes focusing on an oncoming dot in the sky, heading directly in his direction. His eyes locked in on their target, recognizing the monster as the vampire that served under Freyr; Dementia.

"_Did Kiro fail to find her…?"_ He began to wonder, squeezing the handle of his blade for a second. _"Or…did he lose to her?"_

Raising the sword up, Kooru prepared to fight the monster, who had finally spotted him. Soaring closer with even more caution, Dementia leveled herself off, staring into the stone colored eyes of her newest opponent. Her pale lips had curled up into a smirk, not even phased by the large sword that would kill her within moments of being hit by it.

"So darling, what do you think you are doing here?" She asked, hovering a good distance away from Kooru. "Thinking you can actually stop Lord Freyr with that hunk of junk metal?"

"You'd be surprised what I am capable of." Kooru growled, narrowing his brow as he stared at his enemy. "Where is Kiro?" His voice filled with malice as the subject was quickly changed in his favor. "What did you do with him?"

"Nothing of importance." Dementia spoke aloud, hiding her rage at the name. Her disappointing loss still weighing on her shoulders, but her outer expression wouldn't allow it to show.

"You'll regret not telling me."

* * *

Bounding off of the ground, Kiro stood there in the valley for a short while thinking. Holding up his arm, he deactivated his duel disk, letting his arm fall back to his side. Moving, Kiro trudged to the top of one of the hills he was beside, staring at the landscape that was stretching out from his position. 

"_Screw Freyr."_ He thought, looking at the golden castle in the distance. _"Why would I go back to talk to him anyways. I got what I wanted."_

His determined looked waned a bit, his gaze falling to the grass.

"But…he did seem to have some sort of answers for me." Looking back up, Kiro nodded hard. "But Kaira is more important right now. I have to go see her."

And with that, the young demon went racing over the hills with his incredible speed, not slowing at all as he blasted through the field.

* * *

"Now then." Freyr picked up one of the crystals again off of the dirt covered ground, tossing it high into the air before catching it again. A surge of black and blue lightening bolts came off of the gem, making the clear crystal fuzz up with white energy inside its slick encasing. The electrical bolts shot off, crashing against the ground and walls of the cave briefly before vanishing, leaving on slightly singed black marks in their wake. 

Though the crystal threatened to do it again, Freyr just chuckled, letting it fall back into the pile of many crystals, causing them all to spark upon the impact, sending a massive amount of black and blue lightning racing up, crashing into the ceiling of the cave that housed Freyr and Tal at the moment.

"I suppose it's about time to head back to the castle. And probably meet Kiro again." Freyr held out his hand, a strange blue aura forming around the large group of crystals that he had there. Their electrical surges were confined within the demonic aura, keeping them from lashing out like they had been.

"You mean…" Tal began, pushing himself off of the wall. "That you never expected him to come back here?"

"Right." Freyr turned, slowly walking towards the entrance of the cave, his back no longer plaguing him, even though deep scars were visible where he had been attacked. "Did you think he was stupid enough to come back here? He doesn't understand that I know the answer to his question. That I understand more about his situation than he gives me credit for."

"I was the one who originally thought it was a bad idea to let him go like that, remember?" Tal grew defensive, turning to face Freyr's back. As he spoke, he noticed the large demon stop, cranking his head to stare over his shoulder at the human with all three of his burning eyes.

"You're tone is getting a bit…rude, don't you think, human?"

"And what if I am?" Tal held up his arms out of reflex to defend himself should Freyr attack him. Not that it would do much good with Freyr's inhuman speed should the demon actually wish to attack.

"Don't forget, I don't need you at all, human."

"Then why do you keep me around?"

"That is a good question."

The two glared at one another for a while. Tal felt the bite of fear tearing at his insides. Freyr's eyes were overflowing with malice and hate, grinding down Tal's willpower inch by inch every second the glare held.

* * *

Ronin staggered up to the top of a rocky cliff, staring out at what appeared to be the large lake he and Reku had passed coming here. The water was shining brightly in the moonlight as well as the light of the millions of stars. 

Yet a frown pulled at Ronin's lips.

Tightening his hand into a fist, Ronin took in a deep breath before exhaling into a large sigh. His head dropped down; staring down the rocky slop he stood on only to see a very peculiar sight.

Two figured were walking along the sandy slop, heading rapidly beneath him. Ronin recognized the figures; they were Duel Monsters, common ones too. One was a large, red, two legged beast with multiple eyes covering its arms. This was Big Eye. His walking partner was Kangaroo Champ; a peach skinned marsupial, wearing bright blue boxing gloves and a large, golden colored champion's belt.

Ronin watched the two creatures walking before turning his head to the right to see where they were going. To his astonishment, it looked like a small, coast side village, pushing back into an indent in the surrounding cliffs.

"Do Duel Monsters need civilizations to live in?" He asked aloud, slowly turning to face the village. The shift in weight caused the rocks under his feet to crack, and break away. Ronin's eyes grew wide as he went flying down the side of the cliff. "Oh shit!"

Ronin's scream alerted the two monsters, who instantly cranked their heads skyward to see what the commotion was about. The last thing they saw was the young man plummeting towards them at high speeds.

A sharp pain went racing through Ronin's back, his eyes shot open having been squeezed shut out of reflex. Twisting his head around, he realized he had made it to the beach below, but he was also moving.

Twisting further, he noticed he had landed upon the two monsters he had seen earlier, who were now slowly rotating under him and throwing him off. Landing on the sand, Ronin rolled over to see the two monsters pulling themselves to their feet, anger growing in both of their eyes. Feeling slightly parallelized from his fall, Ronin was helpless when the two monsters reached out, grabbing him and slowly started dragging him along the sand to the village.

Finally finding his voice, Ronin began to call out; "Hey! Let go of me!"

Struggling to break free from his captors, Ronin found it to be in vain. The normally weak monsters cards were surprisingly much stronger in this world, holding him tightly. Neither of them had real hands either, which made Ronin feel even worse about his strength. He though could feel the ends of the three razor sharp claws on the Big Eye digging into the surface of his skin; just moments away from breaking hide.

"Don't make me hurt you!" Ronin cried out, this time getting a short chuckle from the two monsters.

Feeling the surface under his butt change, Ronin looked to his sides to realize they had pulled him into the town. The streets were paved with gray stone bricks, lined with a multitude of different Duel Monsters. All of which had their eyes focused on him. A few Cockroach Knights flew over head, looking down at Ronin, their swords and shields drawn as if they were guardians of the city.

About the only monster that didn't seem curious as to was going on was a Forgiving Maiden, standing on the steps of a small, stone house with a rounded off top. She looked on very sadly as Ronin felt himself being lifted up to his feet, forced to turn away from her to see what he was headed.

Stretched before him was a large, entrance to an even larger building. It vaguely resembled a castle, or some kind of City Hall. Walking slowly in while being poked in the back by his captors, Ronin felt to astonished to really be angry anymore. The building was as amazing inside as it was out, decorated with long, green and gold banners handing from ceiling with multiple tables running under them, stacked with parchments. Everything was illuminated by rows upon rows of candles racing up and down the walls.

"Who are you?" A thunderous voice rang out from deep within the room. Cranking his head, Ronin saw instantly a large, throne carved out of solid rock. Standing on the right side of it were three large knights holding up their swords in protection. Ronin instantly recognized them as King's, Queen's and Jack's Knight. "Well…?"

Ronin, realizing he had lost his voice in the oddities around him, brought his head back to the throne where a little man sat in long, flowing red robs. A golden crown sitting on top of his rounded head. His red eyes glowed brightly against his rather pale green skin, giving the monsters a fearsome look, despite being incredibly small.

"I…" Ronin shook it off, still a bit dazed from all that had happened so suddenly. "My name is Ronin."

"Why are you in our village?" The little king demanded, not even seeming to care what the last answer was.

"I have no idea." Ronin looked to his sides to see that the two monsters that had captured him were still standing there, glaring at him. "These two drug me here against my will. So I'll just be going now."

"STOP!" Ronin had just barely began to turn when the small king screamed at the top of his low voice. Turning back, Ronin's eyes met his, seeing that the monster was very serious. "I am Goblin King, and I do not permit anyone to go against my will."

"Goblin King?" Ronin laughed a bit, finally recognizing the monster that sat before him. "Shouldn't…you know…have a kingdom of goblins? So far I haven't seen one in my rather short time here."

"SILENCE!" The Goblin King bellowed, smashing his small hand against the arm of the throne. "You shall pay for your insolence, you heathen."

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Covering Fire**  
Trap  
If your opponent's monster attacks a monster on your side of the field, you can activate this card during the Damage Step. Increase the ATK of your attacked monster by the ATK of 1 other face-up monster on your side of the field during the Damage Step.

Kiro: "This trap is a bit more situational than some I have. For this one to work, a total of two monsters at least have to be on the field. But if done right, this card can give any one monster a major power boost. Increasing the attack points of one monster by the attack points of another can really add up. This card is useful in its own situations."

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	41. Tempting Choices

Episode 41: Tempting Choices

Ronin stood as a prisoner, trapped between the two monsters that had imprisoned him. Staring up at the very commanding Goblin King, Ronin could help but to start to feel annoyed at how he was being treated. Being held there against his will, unable to even leave on his own.

"You are a spy." The king blandly stated, lifting his arm up a bit, the long, red robe falling down to his elbow as he did. "You are here to scout out this village to make it a strategic location for your stupid war."

"I'm doing what now?" Ronin cocked an eyebrow, staring at the little monster. He had wanted answers, but didn't expect them so blatantly.

"We know the war over the crystal has started again." The Goblin King glared down at Ronin, piercing right through him with his glowing eyes. "You will destroy this world like you did many, many years ago. That is what this village is. This village shelters the monsters that are in this area, and I will _not_ let it fall to this stupid war. Now, I will give you one change. Tell me what you are planning."

"I have nothing to tell you." Ronin replied, anger coursing through his voice. Grinning a bit, the small king snapped his fingers instantly after Ronin was done.

"I have ways." He spoke, a verbal entrance to the tall, blond haired woman that came strolling out from behind the throne. She was clad in a red dress, decorated with bat wings across the hips and the top. The only thing strange about this human shaped monster was the fact it had six arms, each incased in a long, light blue glove. "Meet my Succubus Knight."

"Uh…huh." Ronin nodded slowly, a bit confused by what was going on. He watched the monster slowly creep down the steps leading up to the throne, coming closer and closer to him. What startled him about the monster was that on the top arm on her left side, there appeared to be some strange, gray wrist device with a tray pulled back up into it. It looked like a customized version of a duel disk.

Just as Ronin spotted it, the Succubus Knight lowered that arm, bringing it level before her. The duel tray popped out as the device hummed to life, preparing for the game the monster wished to play.

"You are going to make me duel…?" Ronin looked past the monster to the green king still sitting on the throne. Still smirking its twisted smile, the little king nodded. "Why would I…" Cutting himself off, Ronin's eyes darted down to the duel disk at his side. In it, the deck he called his own was still sitting there. Thoughts raced through his mind as he began to plan the situation. Looking up, his attitude had completely changed. "You know what, a duel wouldn't be bad at all."

"Good." The Goblin King smirked, waving his hand towards his monster who also smiled seductively at Ronin. "Then let the game commence."

"You go first sweetie." The Succubus Knight spoke, her voice was very rich, and smooth, floating into Ronin's ears easily. She winked one of her baby blue eyes at him as she spoke.

"Fine." Ronin lifted his arm, the emerald green duel disk on it snapping into the duel position. Reaching for his deck, Ronin instantly pulled off the first six cards he had on it, fanning them open before his face.

Ronin-4000 LP  
Succubus Knight-4000 LP

Scanning his hand for just a few seconds, Ronin took one of the cards he had, slapping it down onto his duel disk. "I summon Frosty Cyclops (1200/1000) in defense mode to start off this duel. Your move."

As Ronin waved his arm before his body, a large, pale blue monster appeared before him crouching over its horizontally turned yellow card. The monster had icecicles handing from its knees and elbows, as well as down the side of its bald head. It's single eye staring blankly at the Succubus Knight, drawn in by the sexy monster.

"Mmm, draw." The Succubus Knight licked her lips as she pulled the top card from her deck, flipping it up to see its face before gliding it into her hand. Taking a hold of a card at the far left end of her hand, she slid it out, holding it into the air before speaking again. "You're monster is a level four one, isn't it sweetie."

"Umm…yeah." Ronin, a bit confused, a bit drawn in by the sexual tension the monster was obviously trying to put out. Looking down, he indeed saw four orange stars on the yellow card on his duel disk. "Why would you care to know how many stars my monster has?"

"So I can fix it!" The Succubus Knight slid the card into her duel tray, causing the whole surface of the tray to shimmer in a rainbow of colors for a few seconds before the card hologram materialized before her. "This equipment magic card is known as Demotion. It reduces the level of the equipped monster by two. Now your Frosty Cyclops is only a level two monster."

"Alright." Ronin nodded, still unsure where this was going.

"And now for my monster." The Succubus Knight grabbed another card from her hand, slapping it down onto her duel disk. "I summon Allure Queen LV3 in attack mode!" (500/500)

Shining in its multi-colored lights, the duel disk scanned the card, producing the proper hologram. This time a skinny, blond haired woman monster appeared on the field before its master. It was dressed in a tight; yet loose black dress with red racing around the torso. She wore a flat, black hat on the top of her neatly pulled back hair.

With her right hand she slowly swayed a large, golden ended staff through the air, waving it at the crouching mythical animal. Instantly standing up, the monster began to trudge slowly across the field, ending up behind the small woman monster who just smiled seductively at it.

"The hell?" Ronin watched all of this unfold before his eyes, not sure what to make of it.

"Allure Queen LV3 has the power to draw level 3 or lower monsters over to her. Equipping themselves to her." The Succubus Knight smirked, licking her upper lip again. "They find her very alluring."

"I get it already." Ronin growled, annoyed he was wide open. _"At least her monster only has 500 attack points. She can't do a whole lot of damage to me this turn."_

"Now, before I go on." The Succubus Knight slid three cards from her hand, sliding them all into her duel disk. "I'll set two cards face-down and activate the continuous magic card; Allure Spell!"

Turning over her shoulder, the Allure Queen rubbed her black gloved hand under the chin of the frost bitten monster, making it swoon with love. Turning back, the Allure Queen chuckled, a faint purple aura racing around its body. (1700/500)

"Oh sweetie, don't look so shocked." The Succubus Knight spoke, giggling a bit at how angered Ronin looked. He felt like she was in his head, reading his thoughts. "Allure Spell powers up the attack points of my Allure Queen by the attack points of the equipped monster." Waving all three of her right arms through the air slowly, the Succubus Knight smiled. "Now attack directly!"

Twirling the golden rod around in her hands, the Allure Queen snapped it forward, sending a blast of black, red and gold energy streaming off of the end of it, slamming directly into Ronin's chest.

Ronin-2300 LP  
Succubus Knight-4000 LP

Gripping his chest, Ronin felt a bit of anger filling him up. Looking up, he stared at the six armed opponent, and her cheerful monster with her own slave hovering over her shoulder.

"I'm finished with my turn sweetie."

"Draw!" Ronin ripped the top card off of his deck. "I summon Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness (1800/1500) in attack mode!" Calling out his move, Ronin slapped the card down onto his duel disk. Before him, a blue and purple armored monster appeared from a waterfall of sparkly light. Slashing its lance through the air, the monster landed on the tiled floor of the palace, awaiting instruction. "Attack Allure Queen! Lance of Darkness!"

"Not if I play my trap card." The Succubus slid her top, right arm across her duel disk, making the device shimmer in its rainbow coloring before the set card on her field flipped up. "Accursed Ring will equip to your monster, preventing it from actually being able to destroy any of my monsters in battle."

Around the ring finger of the charging monster, a skull marked ring appeared, glowing brightly for a few seconds. A toxic dark purple color began to flow down the finger of the monster, causing some smoke trails to fly off the monster's skin.

Sliding the lance forward, not caring about the ring, the monster brought it down horizontally across the body of the Allure Queen, sending her flying back into the arms of the large Cyclops standing behind her. Roaring loudly, he voiced his protest against the attack.

Ronin-2300 LP  
Succubus Knight-3900 LP

"But," the Succubus Knight held up her duel disk, frowning a bit, "I still will take the battle damage." She lowered her duel disk just as her monster was able to stand straight up on her own feet again, blowing a kiss to her savior. The Frosty Cyclops behind her began to blush fiery red, his eyes glazing over as he was lost in her trance.

"I," Ronin continued his move, sliding a card from his hand into his duel disk, "set one card face-down to end my turn." Materializing before him in a ripple of light, the brown backed card hovered inches away from his feet.

"Then I draw." The Succubus Knight pulled the top card off of her deck. As she did, her Allure Queen and the Frosty Cyclops behind her began to glow, vanishing into a pillar of bright, white light. "During my standby phase, if my Allure Queen is equipped with a monster, I get to send it to the grave to summon the next stage of alluring monster. Take center stage now; Allure Queen LV5!"

Dying down, the pillar of light revealed what was standing in the place of the once small woman, was the same woman, just taller. Her hat, taller and rounder, sat on top of her short, but still flowing sandy blond hair, falling neatly around her head. Smiling, she winked at Ronin. (1000/1000)

"And she holds the same power as my Allure Queen LV3 did, but now she can equip herself with level five or lower monsters." The Succubus Knight announced, watching her monster bait in the armored monster sitting on Ronin's field, watching it move over to her monster, sliding himself around behind it. Giggling as he did, the Allure Queen began to glow in a faint purple light, the power of the Allure Spell taking hold on her. (2800/1000).

"Dammit, a level five 2800 attack point monster…" Ronin growled, looking at the behemoth attack score sitting before him.

"And they are all aimed at you sweetie! Allure Queen attack directly!"

Sliding her arms down the golden staff she held, she spiraled it through the air, aiming the decorated golden end of it at Ronin's chest, blasting a beam of red, black and golden light directly for her target.

"Trap card!" Ronin slashed his own arm through the air, his set card flipping up and taking the front of the attack. Falling into a vortex, the beam of light vanished into the thin cardboard binding. "Negate Attack stops all of your attacks, preventing you from damaging me this turn."

"Interesting." Looking down, the six armed woman grasped one of the two cards she was holding in her top left hand with her top right hand. Pulling it out, she slapped it down onto her duel disk, causing it to shimmer with all its vibrant colors. "I summon then; Queen's Bodyguard in attack mode!"

Popping up like mice, three large men dressed in tight fitting red or black uniforms, appeared in a semi-circle before the Allure Queen. Raising there large swords up, the monsters took a battle stance in order to face off against any threats that may come towards their master. (1700/1200)

"Look's like I end my turn sweetie." The Succubus Knight looked up from her duel disk, winking seductively at Ronin yet again.

"Stop doing that." Ronin growled, sliding the top card off of his deck and holding it up to his face. Looking over the edge of the card, Ronin calculated what his opponent's next move most likely was going to be, taking the card and sliding it into his duel disk. "I set this card face-down to start with, and then," as the card formed at his feet, another card appeared horizontally before it as he slapped a monster face-down onto his duel disk. "I set this monster…"

"Sweetie, you walked right into this one." The Succubus waved its lower right arm though the air, the final set card on her field flipping up to show a pair of seductive eyes, glowing brightly as they activated. "I activate my Shadow of Eyes, flipping your set monster into attack mode."

Winking, the Allure Queen blew a kiss out towards Ronin, his set monster flipping over just in time to catch it. What popped out of the card was a large wall of ice, surrounding Ronin.

"My Ice Covered Wall (100/2600)…" Ronin grumbled, looking at his opponent through the sheets of ice. "I end my turn."

"Draw." The Succubus Knight cried out, yanking the top card form her deck and placing it into her hand. Just like before, as soon as she had done that, her Allure Queen and the armored warrior that stood behind her began to glow, vanishing into a large pillar of light before re-emerging as a taller, more scantily clad version of herself. Wisps of flames dancing around her as she elegantly landed on the field. "And my Allure Queen upgrades herself to her final form, Allure Queen LV7!" (1500/1500)

"Are you thinking about taking my monster again?" Ronin growled, looking at his lower attack point monster.

"Nope, not this one. It's much too weak." The Succubus Knight shook her head, pointing at it with all the index fingers she had on her right hand. "Instead I'm sending my Allure Queen to attack it!"

Raising her staff, like all the previous versions of herself had done, this Allure Queen blasted out a ray of black, red and gold, tracing its path along the field and crashing into the ice barrier surrounding Ronin, causing it to shatter instantly, raining down sharp fragments all over Ronin.

Ronin-900 LP  
Succubus Knight-3900 LP

"And now we finish this." The Succubus Knight smirked, her arms falling to the side. "But it was rather entertaining sweetie, don't beat yourself up over it, 'kay?" The three body guards crouched down, taking off at a dead sprint towards Ronin, their swords wielded back over their heads. "Queen's Bodyguard attack directly!"

"Trap card!" Ronin cried out, watching the three razor sharp swords crash into an invisible barrier that sprung up around him, pushing them back to the Succubus Knight's field. "Call of the Haunted! This card will let me revive one of my monsters from my graveyard and special summon it to my field in attack mode." Pulling out the cards in his graveyard slot, Ronin grabbed one of them and slapped it down onto his duel disk. "Return to me; Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness (1800/1500)."

"Lucky you." The Succubus Knight giggled a bit, tilting her head seductively at Ronin. "Trying your hardest to stay living is kind of cute. Fine, since a replay occurred, I'm finished with my move."

"Draw." Ronin calmly slid the top card off of his deck, his eyes growing wide when he saw its face. _"Daedalus…"_ A brief flash of a large, double headed Daedalus-like monster reached across his eyes, making them squeezed close tightly. Taking the card, without even looking, he slid it into his hand cards. _"I'm…sorry Daedalus."_

Opening his eyes, Ronin grabbed another card from his hand, sliding it into his duel disk, the card image appearing before him in a splash of light, rippling across the space before him.

"I activate my magic card; Cost Down! This card, after I discard one card, will decrease the star level of all the monsters in my hand by two." Taking the Daedalus card he held, he pushed it calmly into his graveyard slot, yanking out one of the two remaining cards he held, slapping it down onto his duel disk. "I sacrifice my Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness in order to summon the, now, level six monster in my hand. Come out; Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon!"

A twister of sparks went racing up from behind him, blasting out a large, ice carved dragon monster that went racing up to the ceiling of the small chamber. Slowly hovering down, the monster ripped its long, skinny neck through the air, snapping its pointed mouth open to let out a mighty roar with its appearance. A ghastly white fog slowly came falling down over Ronin with the monster's might wing flaps. (3000/2500)

"Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon, attack Allure Queen now! Glacial Burst Stream!" Thrusting his arm forward, Ronin felt the monster racing over top of him as he cried out his attack. Snapping open its maw, the ice dragon blasted out an aura blue light, coated with ice and snow spiraling through its beam as it raced towards the neatly decorated woman.

"Not quite sweetie, but nice try." The Succubus Knight held its middle left hand out, pointing towards the three men holding swords before her. "Queen's Bodyguard, move to block!"

"What?!" Ronin's eyes grew wide as his opponent announced her play, the three men racing around the Allure Queen and taking the front of the blast, causing all three of them to explode into a million little data bits.

Ronin-900 LP  
Succubus Knight-2600 LP

"You see honey," The Succubus Knight held up the cards for a second before sliding it into her duel disk, giggling a bit as she did, "my Queen's Bodyguards won't let you attack an Allure Queen on my side of the field while they were face-up. So sorry."

"Damn you." Looking down, Ronin scanned over the last card in his hand. "I set this face-down, ending my turn." The brown backed card materialized before his feet, the dragon monster returning to its spot just over Ronin's head.

"Then it looks like I win." The Succubus Knight drew her card, her monster smirking as she did. "Allure Queen LV7, activate your ability to equip any monster of any level to yourself!"

Sliding her fingers down her cheek, the Allure Queen looked very seductively as the large, ice carved dragon slowly floated over to her, sliding down onto the tiled floor of the room, folding up its wings by its side. Twisting its head, the monster put it down in front of the blond haired monster, allowing her to pat it. A red blush fell over the monsters ice-carved face.

"And don't forget the power of my Allure Spell." The Succubus Knight announced, the green bordered card sitting on her field glowing, sending out streams of purple light that wrapped around the Allure Queen. (4500/1500) "So good playing with you. Nighty-night honey! Allure Queen attack him directly!"

"Dammit." Ronin cursed, trusting his arm forward so that his set card flipped up, revealing a purple bordered card, glowing brightly. "I activate Zero Gravity! This card will switch all monsters on the field into their opposite battle position!"

Falling to her knees suddenly the Allure Queen crossed her staff across her body, protecting herself. Instantly, below her, her horizontally turned card appeared with a flash of light, indicating the monster was now in defense.

"Doesn't matter." The Succubus Knight spoke slowly, flipping the card on her duel disk horizontal, the device glowing brightly in its rainbow lights. "When Allure Queen would be destroyed by battle, the equipped monster is destroyed in her place. Even if you attack me while I have only 1500 defense points, my monster can still live."

"_What the hell?! That Allure Queen deck is so annoying. Nothing I seem to do against it is at all effective. What am I going to do, if I destroy the Blue-Ice attached to it, she'll just suck up whatever monster I put down next turn and destroy me."_ Placing his fingers on the top card of his deck, he looked down at it, thinking if there was anything he had that could beat that. _"What am I going to do?"_

It hit him, suddenly and swiftly, right through his left arm. He felt a warm presence, the nuzzling like a puppy warming up to its master. His eyes moved from his deck to his graveyard slot. He had felt this presence before, so he knew exactly where it was coming from. The Daedalus in his graveyard growled, lowly, but only audible by Ronin regardless of how loud it was. Closing his eyes, Ronin shook his head a bit.

"_I'm sorry Daedalus. If I honestly have neglected you like I told myself I did…than I don't deserve to be the duelist to use you."_ Opening his eyes, he stared at the section of duel disk that his graveyard slot was. He felt his response, making his eyes grow wide. _"You…you forgive me!?"_

Images flashed through his head, how things for him had changed since he first met Dementia. More and more he began to see that he didn't even recognize himself any more.

A reassuring tingle went up his arm again, making him nod.

"Alright! Then it's my turn! Draw!" Yanking the card from his deck, he saw it instantly to be a small, green pot with a hideous face painted on it. "Good, I activate my Card of Sanctity, drawing six more times!" The Succubus Knight pulled the three cards from her deck that was required. Plucking six cards from the top of his deck himself, Ronin wasted no time sliding one of them into his duel disk. "I activate my next magic card, Silent Doom! This card will revive one normal monster from my graveyard and special summon it to my field in defense mode."

Flying in a large circle around Ronin's field suddenly was a small, golden comet. Faster and faster it flew until it had created a cyclone of golden light, vanishing only to show the purple and blue armored monster crouching down onto one of its knees on its yellow bordered card

"Quick-play magic card!" Ronin cried out, sliding the last card he held into his duel disk, the image of it appearing behind the armored monster, causing its body to instantly mutate into a large form of water. "Recycling Water Mutation! This card requires me to pay half of my life points,"

Ronin-450 LP  
Succubus Knight-2600 LP

"But then I get to sacrifice one water monster on my field to special summon one from my grave." Yanking out the cards from his graveyard slot, he slapped it down onto his duel disk. "I call forth; Levia-Dragon – Daedalus!" (2600/1500)

The lake on the outskirts of the village began to ripple, a large whirlpool forming by the edge of it. Monsters of the village all turned their heads to stare at the strange phenomenon, most of them knocked onto their rear ends when a large, blue skinned serpent came blasting out from the middle of the whirlpool, jettisoning over the town and flying in through the large opening at the stone castle.

Twisting around Ronin, the large serpent hissed, its four red eyes gleaming out its ghastly light from under the navy blue crown of the monsters head. Snapping its jaw down, its teeth running against one another, the monster let a low, rumbly growl race out from behind its mask of teeth.

Sitting up straight, the Goblin King stared at the large serpent that hovered by its owner, pleased to be of assistant. Eyes wide and sparking, the Goblin King watched as Ronin effortlessly slide the last card he would need into his duel disk.

"Field magic; A Legendary Ocean! This card will trigger the effect of my Daedalus." Taking the card he had just placed into his duel disk out again, he lifted it up to show the Succubus Knight. "By sending it to the graveyard, I destroy everything on the field," palming the card, Ronin pointed with his index finger towards the large serpent above him, "except my Daedalus!"

Cackling darkly, the Daedalus's eyes began to glow, shattering all of the rest of the monsters on the field. Opening its mouth, it let out a powerful roar, destroying anything that was left.

"Daedalus, attack directly for the win! Torrent Rage!"

Gallantly blasting forward, the mightily serpent dug its teeth into the Succubus Knight, causing her to scream out in pain. Vanishing seconds afterwards, the woman fell to her knees, all six hands pressing onto the floor as she began to fall forward.

Ronin-450 LP  
Succubus Knight-0 LP

Arms folding up, Ronin's duel disk became inactive, handing at his side while he held his deck in his right hand, his eyes locked upon the face-up card on the deck, his Daedalus. Closing his eyes, he smiled, squeezing the deck tightly between his fingers.

"_I thank you Daedalus…I don't deserve it, but I am happy you've decided to stay with me."_

"You command such powerful monsters." The Goblin King spoke up, bringing Ronin's attention up to the green man. "You are a strong, loyal being to have such a bond with any monster. I've never seen or felt anything like I felt when you played your Daedalus." In his mind, the little man was in more awe than he was worried if Ronin was a spy anymore.

"Loyal…" Ronin mumbled the word, his head dropping down. In his mind he saw the events he had been through in the past days. "Loyal isn't a word I would use."

"Oh?" The Goblin King jumped off his throne, making the three knights that stood next to the chair jump, worried the little king had hurt himself. "What word would you use?"

"I…don't know." Sighing, Ronin watched the little man walk past the still kneeling Succubus Knight, moving as quickly as his little legs would take him. "Ass hole? Betrayer?"

"Why?" The little man stopped a little ways in front of Ronin. His voice was commanding, demanding an answer.

"I betrayed my friends. I turned against them in an attempt to become strong. Envy, jealousy and hate clouded my judgment so badly that I became a different person." Looking back at his deck, Ronin smiled weakly. "I'm honestly kinda surprised that Daedalus here forgave me after I…locked it up with my anger like I did…"

"It forgave you for two reasons. I know this for a fact. I am the king after all." The Goblin King boasted, holding up his hand, his index finger pointing high into the air. "Firstly, because of the bond you share. It forgave you, because it loves you."

"And second?" Ronin asked impatiently, watching the little man pull up another finger, making two of them.

"It realized you can't fight destiny."

"What?" Ronin cocked his eyebrow at the little man. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"Have you thought that you didn't betray your friends, you just needed to forcibly separate yourself from them? To discover who you truly are?" Lowering his hand, the little green man was smirking his twisted smile, staring up at Ronin with all his might. "You sometimes feel smothered by people around, feel like they stunt your growth as a person. Each being handles stress differently, and maybe you just needed to get away from them to grow on your own, you just didn't know it. Destiny pushed you that way. However," lowering his head, the king's smile faded into a solemn frown. "In times of crisis, beings wish to be where it is safe. The huddle together to protect themselves from the outside, which is what this village is."

Walking past Ronin, the Goblin King locked his arms behind him, his long red robe dragging on the tiled floor. Every one remained silent as the king spoke, even Ronin who turned to look at the king who was staring out the entrance, and the Succubus Knight who had finally risen to her feet.

"We are a collection of random monsters, brought together by the ensuing war." Looking over his shoulder, the king glared at Ronin with a dagger in his gaze. "That would be the answer to your snide remark earlier. No, there aren't any goblins here."

"I see." Ronin nodded slowly, looking out at the night street. Most of the monsters were still active, bustling about the stone roads.

"They can't sleep. And the ones that can are having nightmares." The Goblin King sighed, again, turning back towards Ronin. "We all know what is coming. And we are trying to prevent any sort of war to befall this place. Do you understand?"

"Fully." Ronin nodded, sliding the deck he was still holding into his deck pouch at his waist. "I never meant to bring harm here anyway. I'm kinda…anti-both sides of the war right now. One side is just another power hungry psychopath, the other are the friends I betrayed." Lifting his hand, he placed his thumb and index finger onto his chin, thinking a bit. "What," changing the subject quickly, "did you mean when you said my Daedalus realized I couldn't fight destiny. I mean, exactly mean."

"Well, you are here." The Goblin King smirked a bit, making Ronin even more confused. "Everything you've done up until now has brought you here. Do you think you'd be here otherwise? Or do you think you'd be fighting in this war right now? I think you were meant to be here."

"What for?"

"I have a business proposition for you, if you are willing to take it up." The Goblin King brought his hands up, intertwining his fingers like professional businessmen do. "I've gathered from this little talk that you aren't on either side of this conflict. Would be willing to use that amazing power you have and be on our side? Defend us from the ensuing war?"

"Act as your protector?" Ronin questioned, getting a quick nod from the small monster. Thinking about it, Ronin bit the end of his thumb nail, thoughts racing through his mind.

The room sat in silence, all eyes focused on the strange human from the other dimension, the gears obviously turning in his head. They knew they had an answer when his lips curled into a twisted smile, his arms coming back down before him.

"You've got yourself a deal."

* * *

Walking calmly down the hall, Kiro smirked to himself as he reached out, pushing open the large wooden door at the end of it. The hinges creaked a bit, but not incredibly too loud. Popping his head in, Kiro peered around into the bamboo lined room, gazing down at the girl lying on the floor. 

Instantly, his blood began to boil.

Kaira was still lying on the floor, her skin tinted purple. Kiro curled up his lip, showing his fangs grinding against on another, but just as he was about to turn and leave he heard a faint voice, amplified by his super hearing.

"...Kiro…" Cranking his head up a bit, he saw that Kaira had her eyes open, staring at him from her place on the floor. Her eyes were slotted, golden in color, but yet with all these outwards extremities to her, she still looked incredibly fragile, weak lying there on the floor.

"How are you feeling?" Kiro asked, trying to not let too much anger show on his surface. But still hiding his concern under the mask he so habitually wears.

"I feel so strange." She admitted, her now golden eyes filling with tears. "Kiro…what is happening to me."

"I was hoping by now you'd be yourself again." Kiro knelt down, helping Kaira sit up a bit. "I went after Dementia, and I thought I had killed her, which would have reversed this transformation. You should be human by now." Slamming his fist into the wooden floor, Kiro's metallic like black hands smashed right through the wood, leaving a gaping hole. "Damn her."

"Am I…" Kaira began to speak, looking down at her hands. Here eyes grew wide when she saw the purplish skin and longer than normal nails that were already growing on each finger tip. "…there is no way that I am…"

"A vampire." Order confirmed; her voice soothing as she walked into the room. Kiro, knowing she was coming, didn't even look up from Kaira, his eyes closed anyways so he couldn't see anything. Kaira jerked her head over to the red haired woman who entered the room. Not saying anything, she swept her rob to the front while she sat down onto the floor.

"How in the hell did she get away?!" Kiro growled, standing up. "I will kill her with these two hands when I get them around her throat!" Turning, Kiro was prepared to make a B-line for the door, but stopped when he felt fingers wrapping around his own clawed hands. Jerking his head around, Kiro saw Kaira reaching to him, holding onto his hand with both of hers.

"Kiro…wait…please don't go just yet." She begged, looking up at the boy she had met so long ago and had gone through so much turmoil with.

Looking over at Order, Kiro saw her nodding in agreement with Kaira.

"She needs you. The feelings she's experiencing she doesn't' know how to comprehend. You've been there before, right, suddenly losing your humanity?" Smiling as she stood up, Order placed her hand on Kiro's shoulder. "Help her at least understand a bit, and be here for her. Just a bit. If Dementia is still alive, you're paths will cross again soon enough. They almost have to."

* * *

The stares, brick hard and locked on target, Tal and Freyr continued to glare each other down. Freyr winning with his pure evil eyes, and boiling rage inside, making Tal's spine shake. 

Adverting his eyes finally, Tal whipped his arm up, showing his duel disk. Smirking, the disk hummed to life, the duel tray folding over to make the large table like surface for him to play on.

"I'm challenging you to a duel!" He blurted out, his will unbreakable as he stood there. "And if I win I get the power of the crystal. It's my turn to finally feel what I'm fighting for."

"You do not want to know what will happen to you when you lose, you insubordinate maggot. You've over stayed your welcome and I think it'll be more worth my time to eliminate you out right rather than showing you up in the ancient game." Raising his right arm up by the side of his head, Freyr smirked. "But…" Snapping it down and out to his side slightly, he formed a large glowing ball of energy that floated next to him, just barely off the end of his finger tips. "Since this is probably the only way you'd understand true strength, I'll accept your pathetic challenge."

"Good, now you can see the full frontal force of my Zero Monsters!" Tal announced, yanking the deck from his pocket and giving it a quick shuffle in his hands. "My deck is incredibly powerful. Seeing how I created it, obviously it should be!"

Sliding the deck into his duel disk, he smiled slightly at it, reminiscing of old times.

"_I really did make this deck, and I've worked hard to make it the best deck it possibly can be."_ Looking up, he placed his finger on the leading card of his deck. _"I just have to trust my combos and skills. I may have lost to that little punk Kevin, but he specifically broke my strategy apart. Freyr, from what I saw when he played Ronin, runs a whole different tactic."_

"Shall we begin?" Freyr chuckled, holding his left hand up close to his chest, pretending to be holding a hand of playing cards. Within an instant, five beams of light came bursting from the orb hovering next to him, crashing into a solid block in between Freyr's clawed hands. Dimming, the light revealed five Duel Monster's cards, fanned open and ready to use.

"Yes!" Tal responded, waving his hand back and forth across the censor on his duel disk the five cards ejecting from the slot. Picking them up, Tal fanned out his opening hand, looking them over. "Let's duel!"

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**  
CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Allure Queen LV7**  
1500/1500/7/Dark/Spellcaster  
Once per turn, during your Main Phase, if this card was Special Summoned by the effect of "Allure Queen LV5", you can select 1 monster on your opponent's side of the field and equip it to this card. (Only 1 card at a time can be equipped due to this effect.) If this card would be destroyed by battle, the equipped monster is destroyed instead.

Ronin "Allure Queen LV7 is the final form in the Allure Queen line. She's fairly week for a level seven monster, but has the unbelievable ability to suck in any monster on the opponent's side of the field. That could clean them out of some of their better monsters if you time it just right. Plus, with a monster equipped, she's safe from being destroyed in battle. She has her hidden powers alright."

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	42. Last Stand! Duel on the River of Souls

Episode 42: Last Stand! Duel on the River of Souls

Freyr felt the slight breeze that ran past his body, standing just outside the cave entrance with his opening hand cards drawn with the slightly humming orb floating neatly next to him. Smirking a bit, the demon's third eye took a quick glance upwards the three moons hanging high in the night sky.

"Tonight is the night it shall all end." Turning his third eye upon Tal, the monster jerking his right hand up to his chest, the orb of light blasting out a stream of energy that landed into Freyr's left hand, forming a card. "By morning this plane of existence will be a world bigger. It's too bad you chose now to betray me human, you might have gotten to live." Looking down at his hand, Freyr took his curled up arm and grabbed one of the cards he held. "And I'm taking first turn here."

Tal-4000 LP  
Freyr-4000 LP

Yanking the card out, Freyr threw it like a disk, high into the air. "I summon on my first turn; Mad Reloader (0/0), defensive mode!"

The spinning card erupted into a mighty beam of light, raining down upon Freyr's field. Crashing into a single spot, the beam of light faded off, revealing a small, blue and purple skinned demon monster crouching down. Its club like arms with silver claws at the end was hugging its body, protecting the blue skull head he had with two beady eyes peering out from inside of it. Long golden tubes wrapped their way from the head of the monster down its back and around its small, thin body.

"Take you chances against that." Freyr lowered his arm, indicating his turn was finished.

"Fine." Tal waved his hand down over his censor, his duel disk spitting another card out of the small rectangular hole. Grabbing it up, Tal whipped the card out to his side before bringing it back to his face. "Draw!"

It didn't take Tal long to add the card to his hand, dragging his finger tip over the top of his cards and yank out one in the middle, flipping it over, he placed it on the back row square on his dueling table, the duel disk humming as the card was read.

"I start with my Graceful Charity, drawing three more cards from my deck," as he spoke, he pulled three more cards from the slot in his duel disk, adding them to his hand. Slowly he pulled out two of them and slid them into the graveyard slot on his model of duel disk. "But I must discard two cards to my grave."

Sliding another card from his hand, Tal slapped it down onto one of the monster zones. What appeared before him was a hideous, green skinned troll monster, with a large, wooden club swung over its shoulder. Its eyes were big and round, sitting in the wart covered face like to balls in holes in sand. Grinning, its mouth had only one tooth, hanging off to the right of the middle of the top of his mouth. (0/0)

"I summon my Zero Monster Goblin in attack mode! And just you wait to see his special power." Tal whipped his arm through the air, pointing to the hand of cards Freyr was holding onto so tightly. Smirking, Tal began to speak again. "My Zero Monster Goblin randomly will discard one card from your hand each turn."

Wobbling across the field on its short, stubby legs with flat feet, the goblin monster made it to Freyr's field, snickering as it yanked one of the cards out of the collection of card, tossing it into the air. Instantly the card became engulfed in flames, destroying it.

"Taking away my Mask of Darkness (900/400), interesting." Freyr smirked, watching the little goblin casually make his way back to Tal's field. _"Fool. After watching my first duel, he should know not to assist me in throwing cards into the graveyard."_

"_I wished I would have hit a magic or trap card."_ Tal mumbled to himself in his head, taking another card from his hand and bringing his duel disk level with him. A slot in the middle of the rear side of the duel tray, just big enough for a card, had its mechanical doors open. A small tray slid out where Tal loaded a card into, watching the duel tray pull it back in. "I activate my field magic card 0 Ring!"

The area around them began to surge with energy, many lines began to trace their way from Tal outward, running into the walls of the cave but apparently not caring to be stopped. Appearing on the outside of the cave wall, the lines continued to circle around, rounding Freyr and coming back to the outside of the cave, appearing on the inside again and connecting behind Tal. Glowing in a bright mix of yellow, gold and purple, the rings seemed to finish forming, making the area inside the ring become glazed over with a rainbow mix of colors.

"0 Ring gives my monster the power to actually be able to attack other monsters." Tal explained, pulled his arm down across his body, his fist clenched at the end. "Go Zero Monster Goblin! Destroy Mad Reloader now! Zero Goblin Club!"

Taking a mighty leap off of the glassed over floor, the green skinned warrior went barreling through the air, winding the club back before jerking it forward, slamming it into the head of the awaiting monster, causing it to instantly explode in a fiery death. (100/0)

"0 Ring effect is this," Tal spoke as his monster came flying back from Freyr's field, landing on its stubby legs before him with a grunt, "when a monster with no attack power attacks a monster, I increase the attack of my monster by the attack of your monster, with a 100 point boost onto that." As he spoke, the goblin began to glow slightly, his attack power returning to normal. (0/0)

"The effect of Mad Reloader activates." Freyr spoke, holding up two of the cards in his hand; Wall of Illusion (1000/1850) and Shining Angel (1400/800). Within a second of doing so, the card ignited in flames, vanishing. "I send two cards from my hand to the graveyard to draw two cards from my deck."

The orb of light blasted out two beams of light that formed cards, floating neatly into Freyr's right hand. Fanning them open, he grinned as the cards were moved to his left hand.

"I set one card." Tal called out, slapping one of the remaining cards face-down on his duel disk, the image of the card appearing behind his goblin monster. "I end my turn there."

"My move then." Freyr smirked, the beam of light whooshing past his face as the card was added to his hand. Looking down, his three eyes scanned over all of his options, a sinister grin stretching over his red lips. With a flick of his wrist he released one of the cards he was holding with his free right arm, tossing the card high into the air where it reverted to its form of light. "I start my turn with a simple card; Painful Choice!"

Tracing around him, the beam of light finally came to a rest, blasting into the rear side of the glowing orb. From it, five beams of light went blasting out of the front, hovering before Freyr. Each beam of light finally began to take shape, forming five floating rectangular square that eventually were flooded with color to show five different cards.

"This powerful magic selects five cards from my deck. Now the painful part, for you anyways. You must select one of these five cards, and it will come to my hand, the other four go to my graveyard." Freyr explained, motioning to the five images before him. "Choose."

"…" Tal stared at the five cards, all monsters. _"Sky Scourge Enrise, Sky Scourge Invicil, Shining Abyss, Skelengel, and Mystic Poison. Let's see,"_ Tal read the card names in his head while he looked them over, formulating his plan. _"Those Sky Scourge's seemed to be his deck's main focus when he played Ronin, now he's tossing them away? That seems a bit suspicious. Skelengel will let him draw a new card if he flips it. Shining Abyss is no more than a 1600 attack point normal monster, no hiding power that. I'm not fully sure what Mystic Poison is though…"_ Slowly raising his hand, Tal took one last quick sweep of the cards before jutting his arm forward. _"Might as well give him the card with the least amount of usability."_ Extending his index finger forward he pointed to the card dead in the middle. "I chose that you get to keep your Shining Abyss."

"And you fall neatly into my little plan. I knew your human mind couldn't comprehend what was going on." Erupting into flames the four cards bound for the graveyard burned up while the Shining Abyss went flying in a beam of light, becoming a normal sized card in Freyr's hand.

Tal's eyes grew wide when he saw that from the end card, a large purple and blue cloud came racing up, hovering slowly down over Freyr, coating him in the thick fog.

"Here's the trick." Freyr's voice came from behind the thick smoke. "When Mystic Poison is sent directly from my deck to my graveyard, it places itself into my magic and trap zone as a continuous magic card."

"What good will that do you?" Tal asked, watching the fog slowly start moving off of the demon, coming in the cave entrance.

"Simple" Freyr, who now was visible again, began to smirk. "By sending it to the graveyard, I can destroy one Magic or Trap card on your side of the field with no resistance. Mystic Poison won't let you chain to his effect!"

Growling, Tal's eyes shot down to the set card he had before his feet. He saw the purple and blue fog hug the card, completely cutting it off from view as the smoke eroded away the hologram. The next thing Tal saw was the fog shatter, data bits floating up into the air but no sight of the card left in its wake.

"Shining Abyss!" Freyr yelled out, dragging Tal's eyes instantly to him again. All he got to see was a beam of light blasting down around him, leaving a new monster in its path. It was a hovering, strange looking monster, with a large, round base that supported its mechanical looking torso on it. Two long arms jutted out of the round shoulders, waved around the monsters face, which was nothing more than a large golden eye, with points on it resembling the sun. Golden sphere lined the body of the monster as well, shining with their own light. (1600/1800) "Attack mode."

"Dammit." Tal cursed, watching the strange monster form a large ball between its metallic white fingers. The orb, surging in black and white energy, racing in a large circle with a golden center, looking almost nuclear.

"And it will attack your Goblin! Chaotic Force!" Freyr whipped his arm forward, following the motion of the orb as it was ejected from the monsters grasps, hurdaling across the field at immense speeds, crashing into the wart covered beast, causing him to explode in a fiery death.

Tal-2400 LP  
Freyr-4000 LP

"Don't count me out yet!" Tal cried out just as the smoke was whisping away, the only thing left in the wake of the attack being the large wooden club the monster had been carrying around with him. In Tal's hands rested his deck, slowly being shuffled. "When Goblin goes to the grave, he leaves behind Goblin's Club, carrying all the powers my monster did." Sticking his deck back into his duel disk, he watched the cover fold down and latch into place while his life point counter locked it.

"Oh, you are too far gone to be saying that human." Freyr countered, laying his arms down to his side. "Take your turn."

* * *

Hovering high above, smirking, the purple skinned woman had here eyes locked on the gray haired demon standing on the peak of the rock, holding the sword tightly in his hand, ready to swing should she come any closer. 

A loud explosion grasped her attention, forcing her to jerk her head down, seeing Freyr standing miles below her on the ground, the Shining Abyss standing before him. She could tell instantly he was in a game, what troubled her most was she couldn't see who. The opponent was obscured from view, still standing inside the cave's mouth.

"Too busy to even look at me, huh?" Kooru smirked, pondering whether he should leap off the peak and end the problem floating right before him. Deciding not to, he continued to prod for his answer. "Proves you are just a terrible liar. Now tell me where the hell Kiro is."

Shrugging again, Dementia didn't even seem interested in Kooru anymore, staring down at her master below.

"I have no clue." Slowly hovering downwards, she was heading for Freyr. "I've got to run darling, take care of yourself now."

"What are you…" Turning his head, he looked down to see Freyr standing at the base of the mountain, the white monster hovering before him. "…staring at…" His words trailed off, realizing that Dementia had glided down too far to hear him anymore.

Hovering down, Dementia glared inside the cave, her anger growing with each rapidly increasing heart beat.

"Thoth was right not to trust you, you filthy human!" Dementia cried out, preparing to lung herself at Tal, who stood stiff, watching her from his spot in the mouth of the cave. The only thing stopping Dementia was an outstretched right arm from Freyr.

"Don't worry about it Dementia." Freyr spoke, only his third eye on the top of his head actually looking at her. "I've got this one covered."

Standing down, Dementia resided to just watching the duel, hovering back slightly so that she was outside of the large ring on the ground that seemed to be surrounding both duelists. Landing on the ground more behind Freyr than to the side, she watched as Tal waved his arm over his duel tray, a card ejecting from the slot.

"Draw!" Slapping the card down onto his duel disk instantly, he was suddenly protected by a large wall of molten lava with two beady eyes and a large, gapping mouth in the side of it. "I summon Zero Monster Lava (0/0), in defense mode, ending my move."

Freyr effortlessly caught the beam of light that was shot out from the orb, watching it sparkle slightly before taking a card form, his eyes scanning over it.

"Here's where it gets good." Tal chortled, motioning to his monster. "Just you try and attack my monster. He has the power to defend himself quite well. You see, he'll destroy anything that attacks him."

"Is that so?" Freyr grinned, grabbing a hold of one of the cards he was already holding, tossing it high into the air. "I activate the power of my Drink of the Forgetting Waters. This card will make me forget that I was holding one of my cards, putting it back at the top of my soul stack here. The only draw back being I can't activate any other normal magic cards this turn."

Holding out one of his cards, it returned to a flash of light, hovering back over the larger orb, but not absorbing into it.

"And now for a major part of my tactic I can see your missing." Freyr spoke, commenting on Tal's confused look as to what he was doing. "I'm going to remove from my graveyard; Mad Reloader, Mask of Darkness, Mystic Poison, and Shining Angel, three dark, fiend type monsters and a single light, fairy monster, in order to summon a being of pure chaos!"

Appearing in a shot of light, a large black skinned behemoth came slowly gliding down on its torn up wings, landing with a large thud upon the ground. Racing around the monsters upper torso were a large array of red tipped spikes, jutting outwards from the skin. These spikes also appeared from its lower torso, sticking out between white bandages that wrapped themselves around the beast. As well as the bandages that wrapped the monsters forearms, having spikes protrude from there. Cranking its metallic, spike packed helmet, the monster revealed a hideous skull head, with two endless pits where the eyes of the monster should have been. (2400/1500)

"I summon Sky Scourge Norleras in attack mode." Freyr announced, his large monster puffing out its chest with its announcement, throwing its elbows backwards with its clawed hands pulled to its side.

"There was a third one?!" Tal's eyes grew wide at the sudden monster that appeared before him.

"Very much so." Freyr chuckled, the monster beginning to glow in a massive display of black and white light. "And by paying 1000 life points, my Norleras has the power to destroy everything on the field and in our hands."

Tal-2400 LP  
Freyr-3000 LP

Exploding into a massive fireball of black and white, the incredible beast roared into the night sky, engulfing everything within the large circle set up by Tal, slowly watching everything vaporize itself. Norleras and Shining Abyss were the first to go, vanishing completely with a wipe of sparks. Tal's lava beast and the wooden club meeting the same fate.

The two cards in Freyr's hand melted away in the rush of black and white, while Tal just simply slid his three cards into his graveyard, leaving him with absolutely nothing once his field magic card was ejected from his duel disk.

"My monster had another ability." Freyr admitted, holding out his right hand, placing it on the orb that was floating on top of his other orb, making the card form once again between his red fingers. "Afterwards, I get to draw a card. And since I used my Drinking of the Forgetting Waters, I know exactly what I'm getting." Whipping his arm forward, Freyr launched the card forward, causing it to burst into a large blast of light, engulfing both of the duelists and Dementia.

When the light cleared, all that Tal could see was that he was standing on what appeared to be an invisible surface, looking down at a flowing river. What was in the river wasn't just water though, as what appeared to be angry and miserable ghosts slowly raced past, trying to reach out to him but failing to penetrate the surface of the water.

"Welcome," Freyr began, making Tal look up at him, "to the Boundary - Hateful River of Souls!"

"What the heck does this thing do?" Tal's eyes strained, trying not to look down at the spirits that were slowly moving under his feet.

"Well, for starters, if we have no cards in our hands during our main phase, once per turn a new card can be drawn." Holding up his right hand, Freyr caught a beam of light that came blasting out of the orb standing next to him, his two normal position eyes shifting quickly to see what he had. "I summon Rejection of Joy (300/2100), defense mode!"

Shooting out of his hand, the card reverted to its light form, hitting the ground just before Freyr. Racing up somehow, floating through the glass like surface of the water, a large, gray wall appeared before Freyr. It had a large, anguish filled face pressing against the center of the wall, sticking out as if the face was behind the skin of the monster.

"And second power of my Boundary – Hateful River of Souls should be said. While its face-up on the field, all of the battle damage we take is doubled." Waving his arm through the air, Tal noticed one of the spirits finally being able to break through, hovering up behind Freyr. It was small, and curled itself up into an even smaller ball. "The catch is, once we end our turns, a counter is placed on this card. With 9 times around, this card goes boom."

"I've never heard of such a weird card, but," Tal waved his hand over his censor, grabbing the card that was ejected, "I can live with it." Slapping the card he had drawn down onto his duel disk, a vertical card appeared just inches before his feet.

With a flick of his wrist, Tal slid his hand past his censor again, grabbing the next card that was eject and held it up.

"Thanks to your field, I can draw again since I'm holding nothing. And here is the card of choice!" Whipping the card across his body, Tal slapped it down onto his duel tray the card appearing before him. A hissing sound raced through the cave as the latch on his duel disk opened up, revealing his deck. "I activate Gather the Zero. With this, five Zero Monsters are going to be played from my deck to my side of the field in attack mode."

Fanning open his deck, Tal slowly thumbed through, carefully selecting his five cards, plucking them out one at a time and holding them to the side while he clapped up his deck.

"I summon;" He began, after resetting his deck into his duel disk. "Zero Monster Angel," a female angel monster, wrapped in silk white robes appeared before Tal as its name was called, the halo above her golden blond hair shined brightly in the dark cave. "Zero Monster Wolf," silver in color, the four legged hound appeared on Tal's field. It had two tails, both waving in unison back and forth. From its upper lip, long, twisted fangs shot down, glinting in the light from the halo. "Zero Monster Venus Fly Trap," a large planted pot with a green flower growing out of it appeared next. Two of the leave on the plant through were jagged, looking like a set of teeth, clamping together to form the mouth of the monster. "Zero Monster Beast Knight," wrapped in silver, the large beast knight appeared, growling in a low rumble. Lifting up its helmet, the blackness within was only pierce by two glowing red eyes. "And finally, Zero Monster Raptor!" This time, a brown lizard formed on Tal's field, stripped across the back with light yellow lines. Standing on its hind legs, it reared its head back. Hissing, the monster made sure his presence was known. (0/0)x5)

"What an army." Freyr noticed, looking over the five monsters his opponent had erected before him.

"You'll see." Tal smirked, reaching out and picking up one of the cards. "I activate the effect of my Zero Monster Raptor, by destroying one monster on my field; I can destroy one monster on your side of the field." Flicking the card over, he showed Freyr he was holding his Zero Monster Angel. "Say goodbye to Rejection of Joy."

Both monsters seemed to explode into a fiery death, leaving only one thing in the wake of the destruction, a large, golden halo that was resting above the head of Tal's monster. Slowly hovering down, it placed itself on Tal's field.

Tal-4800 LP  
Freyr-6000 LP

"And the two effects of my Angel come into play." Tal announced, holding up his duel disk. "When it's destroyed, it will double both of our life point scores, as well as leave behind its equipments; Angel Halo."

His monsters settling in again after the large explosion, Tal waved his arm across his body.

"I end my turn with this." Another ghastly spirit shot up from the water, forming into the second orb.

"I guess I should count myself lucky you have only pathetic weaklings in your deck." Freyr smirked, noticing how mad that comment made Tal. "Draw!" He spoke, without even considering words of condolence for what he said.

The beam of light erupted from the orb, landing safely in Freyr's hand. Smirking, he rotated it around, throwing it high into the air where it exploded into a ball of light.

"I choose on my turn to summon forth; Abandonment of Hope (1900/1400)." Appearing, the tall, grey skinned, monster had only three colors to its attire; gray, black and two beady, blood red eyes peering out from the bares that seemed to surround its face. It head was circular, with a long, curved blade racing off of the back of it. Its body looked to be in armor, with a rusted, ridged design carved into what looked like the chest plate. Wide shoulders rotated as it brought its large, double bladed sword swooshing through the air.

Another beam of light came racing from Freyr's orb, forming a card neatly between Freyr's red finger tips, his eyes scanning the surface of the card.

"With my Boundary – Hateful River of Souls, I draw again since I'm not holding any cards." Freyr threw the new card he was holding into the air, causing it to erupt into a beam of light and fall onto the earth before him, creating a vortex of light the spiraled neatly before him. "And I set the card I get face-down."

Holding up his arm, Freyr was prepared to cry out his attack before Tal lifted his own arm, snapping it forward so that the palm of his hand was pointing at the large plant before him.

"Before you get too far, I'll inform you that my Venus Fly Trap is the only monster you can attack." Pulling his arm back, Tal clenched his fingers into a neat little fist, smirking. "It draws all attacks to it."

"It doesn't matter, thanks to my field card, you taking twice the amount of damage you typically would." Freyr spoke, his lungs filling as he inhaled the air before bellowing out his attack. "Destroy his Venus Fly Trap!"

Snapping the sword forward, the monster made the tip crash into the invisible barrier above the river out should, sending out a yellow and black light coursing across the field, in through the mouth of the cave. Jumping off the ground, the trail of sparks collided with the large plant, causing it to squeal in pain.

"Trap card activate!" Tal roared out, the set card on his field flipping up to show a large; clear blue zero resting against a vibrant background. "Zeroing it all Out! This trap works when a monster with no attack points is in attack mode, and destroyed as a result of battle." A large veil came falling down over tall, instantly deflecting the sparks as they came racing up towards him. "This will make all the battle damage I take from the battle; zero. But I also get to,"

His duel disk opening as he spoke, Tal pulled out his deck and fanned it open, slowly shifting through each one of the cards he had, his eyes scanning over each one carefully. Finding the right card, he pulled it out and slapped it down onto his duel disk before quickly shuffling his deck and putting it back into his duel disk.

"Place my Venus Fly Trap Petals on my field."

"You are more foolish than I though if you think leaves will help you." Freyr smirked, watching the large pieces of vegetation appear just as Tal's barrier faded away. "Fine, I end my turn." Another dead spirit floated up behind him, slowly curling into a ball. Three total.

"Draw!" Tal cried out, swiping his hand over his duel disk, a card popping out that he instantly swiped up. His face turned a bit, not too pleased with his draw.

Crouching down, his wolf, armored knight and brown dinosaur had their cards appear under them horizontally, indicating that the three of them were in defense mode.

"I shift my monsters to defense." Tal spoke, bringing his hand back from his duel disk, letting his arms go back down to his side. "And equip my Zero Monster Wolf with my Venus Fly Trap Petals!" Hovering up, the large leaves crashed into the wolf, attaching themselves at the neck of the beast. "But also, I'm giving my Angel Halo to my Zero Monster Beast Knight!" The glowing ring was snatched up by a metal covered hand, throwing it into the air over its head. Falling down, the ring slid into place, hovering over the monsters head. "Ending my turn."

Just as Tal said his last phrase, the silver armored knight began to glow, sending the light up around the halo. Shooting off of the end of the beast, the light seemed to wrap itself around Tal's duel disk, glowing brightly.

"My Beast Knights special effect works during my end phase. I draw a card for each Zero Monster equipment on him." Sliding his hand up across his duel disk, Tal heard the card being ejected from the slot, bringing his hand down he snatched it up and placed it into his left hand.

Splashing out of the river, another ghostly apparition appeared, curling into a ball to join it companions.

Blasting out of the ball of light, a card formed just before Freyr, who quickly reached out and snagged it, drawing it back to his left hand.

"Looks like something I should hold onto." Freyr mumbled under his breath, looking up with a dark smirk spread across his face. "And since the equipments of your monsters carry with them all the abilities of the monsters that once was there, my Abandonment of Hope will destroy your Zero Monster Wolf!"

Bouncing off of its heels, the brown skinned monster jutted straight up into the air, waving its sword across it body to send streams of black and yellow racing off through the air, crashing into the wolf monster and incinerating it instantly.

Appearing from the dust that had domed around the spot where the canine used to sit, the two large, bushy tails hovered backwards, resting just before Tal.

"When Wolf is destroyed, it leaves Wolf Tail on my field." Tal explained.

"Fine, I end my turn." Freyr smirked, but was suddenly ripped into a state of confusion just seconds after the spirit from the river they stood on floated up, forming the next counter. His gray skinned monster, as well as Tal's two monsters just exploded. "Explain human." Freyr's eyes narrowed into a river where growing anger flowed.

"Simple." Tal spoke as a gray suit of armor and a large claw appeared before him in a vortex of light. "When my Zero Monster Wolf is destroyed, during the end phase of the turn, all monsters on the field are destroyed. And since my Raptor and Beast Knight are gone, they left behind Raptor Claw and Beast Knight Armor!"

"Annoying pest." Freyr muttered out, accepting the situation that had caught him by surprise.

"_It'll take more than that to bring down Lord Freyr."_ Dementia commented to herself, watching the duel unfolding before her.

* * *

Upon the hill above the duel, Kooru sat on the peek, not sure fully of the opponents moves, but watching Freyr's choices. His mind was racing with thoughts of what a prime opportunity to strike he was sitting through. Something about him though didn't want to fly down the hill and strike. 

Something told him that he'd be best to wait for the best opening.

His instincts were giving him the vibe that now wasn't the right time. That he should think it through a bit more.

Clenching the sword handle tightly, Kooru continued to watch his foe in silence, his grey eyes unblinking as he stared down at the red skinned demon.

* * *

"So what kind of plan do we got chief?" Joe asked Reku, who at the moment was standing just before the open hold in the wall, his eyes staring out at the dark world before him. Wrapped tightly in his arms, Akina was taking in his warmth still, her face full of bliss. 

"I don't have a clue." Reku admitted, his eyes closing for a second. "And this time, I fear winging it will get us all killed."

"But what other choice do we have?" Kevin asked, looking around the group.

Though it was late, and their faces showed it, none of them could stand to sleep. Being awoken when Reku had made his return, they had stayed up talking since.

"None." Gurabe admitted, for once in his life, almost sounding defeated. "Freyr isn't leaving much room for error, meaning that we don't have must room to find leverage to pull the upper hand. I have got no plan as to what we can do. Freyr and his cronies are far too strong of a force."

"What if I told you that, that is a lie?" Kiro broke in as he, Order and the young vampire Kaira, walked slowly through the large open door. All heads turned towards the green haired demon, curiosity filling their faces at they looked at him, as well as surprise to see him. "Their forces are weakened."

"What are you talking about?" Ryokurio stepped forward, his eyes wide with the possible information he could gather from the demon.

"While out there hunting that bitch Dementia down, I somehow got wrangled into a tag duel with Dementia and Thoth." Kiro face was hard, impossible to read emotions off of as he spoke. "It was a very twisted set up, floating high above the earth on stone pallets. If you lost, you'd be thrown downward to your death. But its result came out that Thoth is dead, as I thought Dementia also was," turning his head slightly, his eyes focused on the girl standing next to him, "but apparently she got away."

"Well, if you were high above ground, could it be possible she flew away after the duel?" Usami questioned, getting a very short jerking nod from Kiro.

"That's what I figured happened."

"You said it was a tag duel." Chime, who was still condemned to the corner of the room, spoke up. "Who was your partner?"

"That Yukio fellow." The response brought an almost instant, angry, reaction from Joe, who began to turn, but stopped, turning back to look at Kiro

"So where is Yukio now?" He asked, trying to hide his anger and a bit of annoyance at the name.

"Dead as well." Kiro closed his eyes as he said it, knowing exactly what the look was going across Joe's face. That unmissable mix of confused feelings. "He fought hard, but they got through his defenses at one point and his life points hit zero, thus sending him plummeting to his doom."

"Wow." Kevin broke the small silence that had followed afterwards. "I didn't even realize he was gone. He must have snuck out while we weren't looking."

"Were all so tense up about everything that is going on…it's no wonder we didn't notice." Ryokurio spoke in defense of everyone, looking around the room. "It's still sad to see a human life sacrificed for this, but at least we do know now that Freyr is down at least Thoth. That could be the crack in his armor we needed."

A group agreement came in the form of the simultaneous nod.

* * *

Crossing his arms, Deruku crouched down on what appeared to be a clear, spinning gear. Though it was slowly rotating beneath him, the robbed man didn't appear to be moving with it. 

All around Deruku were identical, clear, rotating gears, all slowly turning. The background was solid black, with strange streams of yellow number racing around, like rings orbiting a planet.

"The research was tiresome. But I fear that this may be the only way for us to bring down Freyr." The hood draping down over his face still, the man bowed his head, starting to mumble some strange words. The chant he spoke seemed to echo off the blackness that encased him, growing in sound.

As the words were echoing, creating a rhythm of their own, the large clear gears began to slowly spin faster, thus causing the streams of numbers to orbit around Deruku faster and faster, almost to a point in speed that they were nothing but yellow rings.

Electrical currents seemed to fly out of the rights, hitting the quickly rotating gears, sending spirals of lightning racing through the dark area, all around Deruku, who stayed stiff as a statue, continuing to chant his magical words.

The place grew brighter and brighter, the magical power surging through the air.

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**  
CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Sky Scourge Norleras**  
2400/1500/8/Dark/Fiend  
This card cannot be Normal Summoned. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by removing 3 DARK Fiend-Type monsters and 1 LIGHT Fairy-Type monster from your Graveyard from the game. By paying 1000 Life Points send all cards in both players hands and on the field to the Graveyard, afterwards draw 1 card.

Tal: "Norleras is a powerful demonic creature. His summoning requires you remove four specific monsters from your grave; three dark, fiends, and a single light fairy. But as a reward for this, this bruiser comes out 2400 points strong. Not only that, but he'll wipe out the field in a mere instant. To redeem itself for the user, since nothing is safe around him, an additional card is drawn after the genocide. What a beast!"  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


	43. Last Stand! Zero Break

Episode 43: Last Stand! Zero Break.

Smooth, almost melodic moans from the rolling souls under the feet of Tal, Freyr and the silently watching Dementia. Humming, Tal's duel disk was a shining beacon of light in the dark entrance to the cave, where he had positioned himself to duel.

His hand whipped up, sliding past the red gem sensor that he had resting on the front of his wrist device, grabbing the card that was shot out of the small, rectangular hole.

"It's my turn now, draw!" Adding the new card to his hand, Tal went over his options, and the field situation in his head.

As it stood, he had only three equipments on the field; Beast Knight Armor, Wolf Tail and Raptor Claw, all powerful in their own right. Freyr only had his field card and a set card down.

"I summon," Tal announced, yanking one of the three cards from his hand out, slapping it down onto the top row on his duel disk, "Zero Monster Mage, attack mode!" A slim, tall man in a dark blue and black robe appeared before Tal in a blast of sparks and light. In his hand he held a long white staff with a circle of hawk talons at the end holding onto a yellow orb. Whipping the staff around, the monster slammed it down into the invisible ground above the river. (0/0)

"Your mini magician doesn't frighten me human." Freyr boasted, thwarting Tal's confident voice while summoning it.

"He will." Tal promised just as the three equipment cards on the field began to move, slowly attaching themselves to the small mage. The armor wrapped around monster's body, while the long dinosaur claw came protruding out of the middle of the armored food of the mage. The dual, hairy tails came popping out of the rear side of the armor. All three pieces began to glow in different colors of light. "Attack directly my Mage! Equipment Prism Magic!"

Winding the large staff around to its side, the monster thrusted it forward, sending off a blast of white and yellow energy that went flying across the field, crashing into Freyr's red skinned chest, bouncing off and transforming into nothing more than strands of smoke.

Whipping his head back, Freyr began to laugh.

"That was your best shot?"

"The effect of my Mage activates." Tal spoke, calmly ignoring Freyr's rude laughter. "For each equipment on him when he attacks you directly, he inflicts 500 points of effect damage to your life points!"

"What?" Freyr's head came back, watching as the smoke that had formed from the attack slowly swirl around before him, charging in violently and re-crashing into his chest, this time with enough force to push him backwards slightly.

Tal-4800 LP  
Freyr-4500 LP

"A good 1500 points of damage should turn the tides of this game." Tal began, raising his left hand and moving his right hand over his duel disk. "I end my turn there, and thanks to the effect of my Beast Knight Armor, I draw one new card for each equipment on my Mage, which is three."

Pulling his hand back and forth three times, Tal preceded to make his duel disk spit out three more cards, which he happily grabbed up and added to his hand.

Likewise, another ghastly spirit came blasting out of the river the two duelists stood upon, curling up into a ball and joining the other five balls that were already floating behind Freyr.

"It's not going to be as easy as you think." Freyr grunted, motioning to the pool of light before him, which suddenly erupted like a geyser, spraying bluish-green water high into the air. "I'm activating my trap Woeful River Waters. When there is a Boundary – Hateful River of Souls on the field with four or more counters on it, I can activate this card, making me discard one card from my hand to add one card from my deck that is a normal magic or trap card."

Flipping over the card in his hand, Freyr revealed he was holding a useless Trap Hole. Instantly after doing so, the card erupted into a violent flurry of flames, completely vaporizing into thin air. Seconds later, a beam of light from the orb next to him came racing out, replacing the card that was in his hand with another card.

Freyr spoke, watching as another beam of light came erupting from the sphere of light, landing safely in his hand next to his first card. "This new card will do just fine." Taking out his first card, Freyr launched it high into the air, watching it mutate into a laser, crashing down on the field and creating a swirling pool of white and yellow energy. "I hide a defending monster, concluding my turn."

The seventh ghost erupted from the river, curling itself up and joining its companions.

"_I have a bad feeling about this."_ Tal carefully observed the situation before waving his hand over his duel disk, yanking out the next card. _"For some reason, the effect of his river card bothers me. There has to be more to it if it's going to blow itself up come his next end phase."_ Looking down, Tal scanned over the cards he hand, smiling a bit. _"At least this combo will keep him at bay should he try anything funny." _

Freeing one of the cards he held, Tal slapped it down onto his duel disk, the green bordered card appearing before him. Appearing before him, a card depicting a blond haired, armored woman with a long staff in the background, and a brown, two-legged lion creature standing with its back to the image in the foreground, both surrounded by large blasts of lightning.

"I activate Dual Summon, allowing me to normal summon two monsters this turn."

A long, grayish-blue sea snake appeared before Tal, coiling up on top of its horizontally turned card. The beast revealed it had two forked tongues, both popping in and out of its mouth at regular intervals. Next to it, also crouching onto its horizontally turned card was a large, skinny mummy wrapped in pale white bandages. Moaning, the beast crossed its arms over its body, making a hideous cracking noise.

"I summon Zero Monster Death Serpent (0/0) and Zero Monster Walking Dead (0/0), both in defense mode." Tal announced, his armored mage also falling to its knees on its horizontally turned card. "And I shift my Mage to defense mode as well. Thus ending my turn."

Like clockwork, once Tal said the magic words, the eighth soul floated out of the river, pulling itself into a ball and joining its comrades.

"Then it all ends here human." Freyr's card being added to his hand via the light burst like normal as he spoke. "I'm activating the magical essence of my Monster Reincarnation! Discarding my Lake of Flaming Waters trap card to add a monster from my grave back to my hand."

Flipping the two said cards over, Freyr fanned them open to show one being a blue Egyptian ruin, the other being a massive lake on fire. Both of the cards began to glow before being completely engulfed in a bluish-purple flame. When the flame died out, Freyr was holding a single card, this one titled; Sky Scourge Enrise.

Flicking his wrist, Freyr tossed the card high into the air where it once again formed into a burst of light, jutting high into the air before crashing down onto the river they were dueling on.

"I remove from my graveyard; Sky Scourge Norleras, Skelengle, Rejection of Joy, and Shining Abyss, my single dark fiend type and my three light fairy types needed to special summon my Sky Scourge Enrise!"

The large, white being appeared on the field out of the burst of light, waving its claw like fingers through the air while it spread out its angelic looking wings. In the mists of the beasts stomach was a rainbow colored black hole, spiraling slowly clockwise while it produced just a bit of suction. Enough to draw a few loose rocks into it.

Smirking, the beast showed it had razor sharp fangs. Though its eyes were hidden behind a head band with golden markings on it, Tal could tell by the rest of its face that it had a very smug look on its face. (2400/1500)

"But don't get comfortable yet human. This is the end of the game." Freyr raised its hand, looking like he was preparing to call his final attack.

"You can't win." Tal boldly stated, standing his ground with a rock jaw. "My monsters are in defense mode if you didn't notice."

"I noticed your defending status." Freyr whipped his arm forward, actually pointing at the swirling pool of light he had on the field next to his Enrise. "I and going to surprise you by reveling my hidden monster. Come out; Gravity Ball!"

A large, black orb came floating out of the pool of light, fading it out of existence as it slowly rose up into the air. Inside the orb's surface, white surges of lightning were racing around, giving the orb a slight crackling sound with a low hum. (1100/700)

Instantly, in the orb's presence, the three monsters on Tal's field began to moan, but suddenly were lifted off of their cards, appearing like they were no long bound by the chains of gravity.

"When Gravity Ball comes into battle from his hiding position, he instantly changes the battle modes of all of your monsters." Freyr's arm slowly lifted from the spot it was in, aiming directly towards the Mage monster. "And with the power of my Boundary – Hateful River of Souls, all battle damage to you is doubled. This means that you lose on this attack, no matter what you do! No hidden surprises on your field mean you can't spring any traps on me." Sucking in a deep breath, Freyr's eyes bulged open. "Enrise attack! Destroy Zero Monster Mage with your Chaos Black Hole!"

Giving out a strange hiss, the monster crossed its arms over its body, suddenly throwing them back and puffing out its chest and stomach, throwing them forward. The spinning rainbow vortex on the stomach of the beast began to spiral around faster, becoming just a large blur of color before blasting out a beam of energy, heading straight for the armored magician.

"_This isn't good."_ Tal growled, grinding his teeth. Whipping his own arm forward, he pointed towards the large serpent hovering above his field. "I activate the effect of Death Serpent. He has the power to direct the attacks that come at me to wherever I choose."

Snapping his arm over, Tal pointed to the floating mummy with his index finger. As he did, the serpent began to hiss loudly, opening it mouth wide and sending out a clear beam of energy itself, crashing into the oncoming attack and veering it off course.

"Zero Monster Walking Dead," Tal began, just as the attack collided with the mummy, instantly vaporizing all of the beast but a strand of the monsters wrappings that fell down to the cave floor. "When destroyed in battle, makes all damage dealt to me zero for this attack. As well as leaves his equipment; Walking Dead Wrappings."

"Lucky save." Freyr composed himself again, a bit angered by the sudden turn of events. "But it's not over yet, Gravity Ball, take you time." Freyr ordered, nodding his head towards the serpent that had just hindered his plans.

Slowly moving forward, the black sphere moved through the mouth of the cave. The crackling sound from the orb was amplified by the stone walls, causing the beast to appear even more powerful. Falling down around the serpent, it enveloped the beast inside of it, slowly killing it off. Tal watched his monster being slowly ripped apart by the lighting blasts, vaporizing into nothing more than particles that were eternally trapped inside the orb.

Tal-2600 LP  
Freyr-4500 LP

Retracting itself, the orb slowly moved back out of the cave. Freyr, waiting outside, was laughing his twisted laugh.

"Thanks to my field card, you lost 2200 points of damage instead of the typical 1100. Soon, the other 2600 points will be gone and you will be out of my way."

"That almost sounds like you are struggling to beat me." Tal smirked, fanning open his deck and looking through it. "You finding this mere human able to outsmart you?"

"Not likely. You just pulled a semi-good move there. The outcome will be the same."

"We'll see." Tal frowned, yanking a card from his deck and placing it onto his duel disk. "With Death Serpent's destruction, Death Serpents Fangs come to the field."

"Yes we will. First things first though, I'm activating the power of my river for the last time. Since I'm not holding anything, I can draw once more." A beam of light came blasting from Freyr's ball, forming a card that slowly drifted down into his hand. "And I end my turn, making it the ninth time we have." Freyr smirked, the final spirit came racing out of the river below, curling into a ball and joining the other eight balls that were hovering there. "With all nine counters on this card, it goes boom."

Just like he said, the nine orbs shattered, followed by a racing down the small river with an eraser, slowly dispersing the river into nothing more than shining particles that slowly rose into the air. The first thing that Tal noticed was that whenever one of the particles would touch him, it would shock him slightly, making him shudder.

"The final two effects of my Boundary – Hateful River of Souls activate. One is that now we both take 1000 points of damage." Freyr began, explaining the shocking Tal was feeling.

Tal-1600 LP  
Freyr-3500 LP

"And the other?" Tal questioned, watching as the particles almost responded to his question, forming steams of light that went racing around them. They weren't hurting anymore, but they seemed to fad away after circling them for a moment. "And what was that?"

"That was the power of my river. When it destroys itself by its own effect, all cards that are removed from play are instantly placed back into the proper graveyards." Freyr's eyes were glowing, a demonic red aura twisting off of them. "All of my ammo returns to my grave. And now its your turn to try and stop me."

"_How am I going to stop that?!"_ Tal groaned to himself, waving his hand over his sensor and grabbing the card that was spit out. "Draw."

Taking the card he had drawn, Tal instantly slapped it down onto his duel disk. Appearing before him was a large fish monster with rainbow colored scales. Around the monster a calming, aqua blue aura seemed to flow.

"Thanks to his ability, I special summon Zero Monster Trout (0/0) instantly when I draw him. With his ability, during my standby phases I special summon all Zero Monsters in my hand." Holding up the three cards he held, Tal slapped them down onto his duel disk, making him a new wall of monsters. "I summon in defense mode; Zero Monster Dragon Bain," A large green and silver dragon with a solid black underbelly and four sets of glowing red eyes appeared before Tal. It was sitting on its hind legs, curling its long scaly tail around it for defense. (0/0) "Zero Monster Buzz," this time, a large, brown and red bee appeared sitting on its horizontally turned card. It's large, red insect eyes were glowing in the dark cave. (0/0) "And finally; Zero Monster Cobra." Tal finished just as the green scaled snake monster appeared on its card, curling up into a tight nit ball. Popping its head out, it have a low hissing noise, bearing its curved, ivory colored fangs. (0/0)

The card that Freyr was holding suddenly began to burn up, vaporizing into nothing, leaving the behemoth demon a bit surprised.

"Cobra's effect activates. While he's on the field, you cannot hold more cards than me. Since I'm not holding any, neither are you." Tal smirked, knowing he might have just taken the upper hand.

Silently afterwards, the long bandage and the pair of fangs that were resting on Tal's field, slowly moved forward and equipped themselves to the armored magician. The bandages wrapping around the monsters torso while the fangs found their place neatly inserted in the human's mouth, giving it a very demonic, reptilian look.

"I equip my last two equipments onto my Mage, shifting him to defense mode." Tal announced, his monster crouching down in response. "This ends my turn."

Freyr looked over at the orb next to him, knowing it wasn't going to spit out an essence like it usually did, thanks to the effect of his opponent's cobra. Looking forward, he narrowed his brow, his eyes showing his anger at the human.

"You're dumb luck hasn't ceased to annoy me yet." Bearing his fangs, Freyr growled a bit. Demonic red aura seemed to be flowing off his skin. "I've played with you long enough. Now watch. Enrise, activate your effect! Remove that stupid Cobra from the game."

"No way." Tal watched helplessly as the green reptile on his field suddenly was picked up, racing towards the spinning vortex in the monsters gut. Instantly disappearing beyond its boundaries, Enrise began to cackle in evil laugh out of its pale white lips.

"But by removing your monster from play, my Enrise can't attack this turn. But my Gravity Ball can! Destroy!" Freyr's voice was rising as the large orb went racing through the cave opening again, surrounding the armored mage and instantly disintegrating it inside its body.

Instantly afterwards though, the long staff the mage was holding fell out of the orb, landing on the field before Tal.

"I shouldn't have to say it by now." Tal spoke, shuffling his deck and sliding it back into his duel disk where it was locked within the chamber. "When Mage is destroyed, Mage Staff appears on my field."

"It doesn't matter." Freyr growled out, waving his arm across his body. "I'm done with my turn."

"Draw!" Tal yelled out, waving his hand over his duel disk and grabbing the card that was spit out. "Zero Monster Buzz, effect go! During my standby phase he doubles the number of cards in my hand." Tal explained, drawing another card from his deck. Looking at the two non-monster cards, Tal sighed that he couldn't summon either of them with his Trout monster. "I end my turn." There was nothing more he could do.

"My move!" Freyr announced loudly as the beam of light came bursting off of his orb, landing in his hand and forming the card. The expression on Freyr's face instantly shifted from angry to a twisted joy. "This will do some major damage to you."

"How?" Tal questioned, watching the twisted demon slowly lift the card he had drawn up over his head. "You can't get past my three monsters, even if you summon another monster."

"I know that. But what you don't know is," flicking the card he had drawn into the air, it suddenly burst into a sphere of light just over his head. The light suddenly turned black, and suction came from it, pulling up Freyr's two monsters into the black hole. "I activate my magic card; Tenmashin Soul Hell."

Tal was dying to ask what that card did, but he was cut off by an incredible amount of moaning. All around Freyr, his own monsters began to appear in ghastly forms, slowly rotating around the demon.

"My magic card wipes everything off my field and hand." Freyr began to explain, closing all three of his eyes. "And then I have to remove from my graveyard from play four light, fairy type monsters and four dark, fiend type monsters."

Slowly coming forward, Freyr announced each monster that floated by.

"Shining Abyss, Skelengel, Shining Angel, Abandonment of Hope, my four light fairies." The four named monsters began to shine in their ghastly forms, vaporizing into nothing more than particles. "And then; Mad Reloader, Mystic Poison, Gravity Ball, and Mask of Darkness. The four dark fiends needed."

"Now what?" Tal was almost scared to find out, watching the four named dark monsters vanish from the field.

"Simple." Freyr held up his right hand, snapping his fingers to cause a large spark to appear from the friction. The spark erupted into a pillar of flames in his fingers, dying out to reveal three cards resting in Freyr's hand, all three of his Sky Scourges. "By doing that, I get to special summon my Sky Scourges from my graveyard to my field in attack mode, ignoring summoning condition!"

Winding his arm back, Freyr launched the three cards into the air where they reverted to their original forms of light, spiraling around through the air before crashing on the earth before the demon duelist. Enrise, Norleras, and Invicil all appeared standing in a line, their demonic aura merging into one massive power. Spreading their wings wide, the three Sky Scourges began to cackle a dark, twisted laugh that echoed all around Tal, making a shiver run down his spine.

(Sky Scourge Enrise 2400/1500)(Sky Scourge Norleras 2400/1500)(Sky Scourge Invicil 2200/1600)

"Do you remember when I played my Monster Reincarnation?" Freyr asked, making Tal shift his gaze from the three threats that were before him, to the demon behind them. Nodding slightly, Freyr smirked. "Good. Cause the resource I used up was known as Lake of Flaming Water. When I remove it and Boundary – Hateful River of Souls from my graveyard from game, I can destroy one card on the field." Lifting his arm, he pointed to the large fish, who instantly was engulfed in a geyser of red and blue flames, incinerating the beast, leaving a large scale floating back to Tal's field.

Slowly stepping forward, Freyr's three demons knew it was their turn next.

"Invicil, Enrise," lowering his hand to his side, the command came: "Decimate." Freyr's voice was deep, stern and cold as the word came flowing over his lips.

Obeying, his monster let out powerful bellows, sending their aura in a massive shock wave blasting outwards. The cave was filled the inky blackness, like a jar filling with water. Tal found it disorienting, dizzying and hard to breath for a second before the darkness seemed to be suctioned out, back around the three demonic creatures that were standing in the cave entrance.

Falling to his knees, Tal's vision blurred slightly for a second. Thing were being slow to register to his brain. First thing that seemed to take hold was the fact that his monsters had vanished from the field before him, leaving nothing but a large pair of insectizoid eyes and bodiless wings. Both hovering back by the large mage's staff and large scale.

"Buzz Eyes and Dragon Bain Wings are left on my field." Tal pulled himself to his feet, finding what little strength he had left being put towards him opening his duel disk and taking out his deck. Shifting through it, he found the three said cards, plopping them down onto the duel disk.

"Pointless." Freyr scoffed, his three monsters blocking him from Tal's view. "Last move, Norleras attack directly. Corroding Shadow, Ripping of the Heavens!"

Raising its spiked hand over its head, the large black demon grinned with its pearl white skull face, slashing his arm down through the air. A blade of darkness came slicing through the air, crashing directly into Tal. Seeping into his skin, a large, black line was visible from the top of his head to his groin.

"Your service was mediocre at best human. Pathetic attempt to show loyalty were driven by your own, inner human greed in the end. Giving us some time and wearing out our enemies was the best thing you did, but I could have easily done it a better way than relying on you. You're free to die now."

Falling backwards, Tal's body was losing life each second. His pre-corpse body erupting into a ghastly purple and black flame that seemed to instantly cremate the man and all of his cards, his charred black duel disk was the only thing that hit the ground.

Tal-0 LP  
Freyr-3500 LP

* * *

The crisp night air tasted fresh to Kooru, a smile tugging at the edges of his lips as he saw the three large demonic creatures vanishing from just in front of Freyr. He could hear the stretching of the leather on the handle of the sword as he squeezed tighter. 

A twinge ran through the wind, causing Kooru to shift his weight forward, blasting down the side of the cliff like a rocket. Sliding the sword across his body he prepared to strike when he reached the bottom.

Freyr's third eye snapped upwards, seeing the oncoming attack.

As the wind ripped back Kooru's silver hair, he slashed the sword back across his body, winding it backward, slamming it down. His vision was consumed by a brief flash of flames, then a mixture of colors before leaving a large white flash in his field of vision. His ears caught the extraordinarily loud explosion as the power of the sword was released.

Standing up, Kooru felt the hot earth churning below his feet. The wisps of smoke that came back into his field of sight once the white light had faded away. Gripping the sword handle tightly, Kooru growled, knowing instantly that his decent from the mountain top took to much time, even though it was only a few seconds that had elapsed. His prey had teleported out of there in that rush of flames.

The sound of rocks crumbling and falling to the earth made Kooru sigh. Yanking on the sword, he freed it from the ground, pulling up a lot of charred earth and rocks, listening as they re-found themselves on the ground.

Letting the sword rest at his side, Kooru used his free left hand to run his fingers through his hair in an attempt to clean out the rocks and dirt that had gotten into it. Looking around, he saw the magnitude of damage the sword had on the area. A large, oval shaped crater stretched out in all direction, being stopped only by the large mountain that stood to one side. The entrance to the cave and the whole side of the hill had fallen in, rocks sliding down the small slope into the bowl like hole. Smoke billowing up out of certain areas where the earth was dyed a deep black. The hole looked like a small meteorite had collided with the ground.

"I see I'm a tad out of practice…"

* * *

Eyes wide, the small group of people watched the dome of white light grow from the base of the mountain in the distance. 

"What the hell was that?" Joe questioned, a bit disturbed by the strange bomb like explosion.

Growling a bit, Kiro's head whipped around, causing a swooshing sound that made everyone look at him, or the place where he was. By the time they were looking at him, he had already vanished, blasting through the room with his demonic speed. He wasn't the only one, as Heruru and Hebanu also had vanished.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Kevin analyzed the situation, looking around the group.

"I think they've headed for the crystal." Order interrupted, making her own guess. "Chosen ones, you must hurry! We have to stop Freyr and whatever he is planning!"

"Don't have to tell us twice." Joe swiveled around, running backwards as he pulled at the group with his arms. "Come on people, we have a world to save!"

Nodding, the group all moved at once to follow Joe, who had flipped around and was heading for the door. Though, they came to a sudden stop when Kevin reached out, wrapping his hand around Usami's arm and pulling her back.

"Stop." He spoke with more confidence than he really felt. "You shouldn't go."

"Why?" She questioned, snapping herself back around to look at the young man who was restraining her. Next to him, she saw Ryokurio who, while also looking confused, agreed with him slightly.

"There have been too many casualties already." Kevin spoke up, lowering his head. "I don't want anything to happen to you, or anyone. I'm actually going to suggest that only us who have crystal cards should go. With those, we _might_ stand a chance of actually stopping them." Lifting his head, he gazed at Usami before turning his head to look at her brother who nodded. Kaira and Sachiko also agreed with a simultaneous nod of their head. "I'm not trying to be mean, but more cautious." Looking back at Usami, he let go of her arm, which fell to her side. "I hope you understand."

"I…uh…" Reku broke in from the now back of the group, "might have a problem with going then."

"What are you talking about?" Akina questioned, pulling his head towards her and looking him deep in the eye.

"My crystal card…" Pulling away from her, he looked back at the group. "I don't have anymore."

"How?" Order voiced the question everyone wanted to ask. The confusion in the air was thick and heavy, all weighing down on Reku's shoulders as he tried to take in a breath of air. Letting it out, he looking resolved again;

"Lost it." He spoke sternly. "Ronin took it after my duel with him."

"Well, that's just lovely." Joe, who was standing in the door way, slapped his hand to the top of his head, leaning back against the door frame.

"You're still coming." Akina protested, making eyes glue themselves upon her. All but Reku's, who had slowly drifted back to the floor. Taking her hand, she put her fingers under his chin, again forcing him to look at her. Smiling sweetly, she leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss, before pulling back and leaning her forehead against his chest. "I can't do this without you. Even without your crystal, you are still a strong person, and an inspiration to us all." She felt his hand rub up and down her back as she spoke, comforting her. "You aren't really going to leave me, are you?"

"Of course not." He spoke softly, each word sinking deeply into her, making her smile. "I'm never going to let you leave my side again. Crystal or not, I'm going anyways." Pulling her back, he again looked deep into her eyes. "I will make sure the sun rises tomorrow. We have our whole lives to live together…it's not going to be ruined now."

She could see his resolve again building. The feeling in his eyes, in his soul, was so powerful it made her heart skip a beat. She knew he wasn't lying to her. He'd do everything he could to make his words come true.

The room was silent again before the realization came back washing over them that they had to get moving. With a quick motion of his arm, Joe led them out the door, which Kevin, Gurabe, Akina, and finally Reku followed.

Rounding the corner outside the door, Reku watched the lovely woman running before him with her long hair whipping out behind her as she went. A smile that had been on his face vanished as his thoughts seemed to focus on Akina just a bit more then the situation at hand.

"_But what if I do leave her again? I don't want to lose her. I can't,"_ closing his eyes tightly, Reku ground his teeth a bit. _"I won't! Not as long as it can be helped."_

* * *

"Dammit." Kooru cursed, slicing his sword through the air and suddenly blasting away a massive amount of rocks on what used to be the entrance to the cave. The whole front side of the mountain had collapsed down around it, leaving there no easy way to get in. 

Whipping the sword back around, another massive amount of rocks came blasting off the front of the cave. Most of them cracked and shattered into a massive amount of dust that floated around the air for a moment, slowly drifting down as a slight dusty fog.

"If the crystals are still in there, I need to get them." Slicing back across his body, another large chunk of rock was blown away. "But would he be reckless enough to let them get trapped and leave them knowing I'd most likely dig them up?" Another powerful swing sent another massive amount of rubble out of Kooru's way. Sliding the sword through the air, he planted it into the earth next to him. "Or did he some how teleport them with him, knowing this would distract me? But if he anticipated that, maybe he left them, thinking I would think he took them with him."

Cranking his head, he looked over his shoulder towards the large golden castle that lay in the distance, obscured by hills where he stood.

"Dammit, he's not an idiot." Looking back, Kooru unplanted the sword, swinging it through the air, sending another wave of power into the debris to clear it out. "I can't take the chance that he did leave them here."

* * *

The large crystal stood before the red skinned demon and the purple skinned vampire, flowing with its own natural power and beauty. The image of its clear confines reflected in the five eyes locked on it. 

Then it was just two as Freyr's three eyes closed. A smirk pulling at the edges of his lips.

"It sure didn't take you boys long to realize we were here." He spoke, slowly turning around with Dementia flipping around next to him to see Heruru and Hebanu standing on each side of Kiro.

"You may have escaped me once bitch, but this time I'm going to kill you for what you did to Kaira." Kiro snapped his hand up; pointing is ridged, metallic black claw at Dementia.

"Oh darling, don't get so tied up in a knot." Dementia chuckled. "You tried your hardest, you just can't kill me. I'm just that much more superior to you."

Lunging forward in that instant, Kiro made a dive at the vampire, his rage burning through his body and out through his skin. The blood red aura whipping back like a cape off of him as his body was flying through the air.

"Watch it." Freyr warned, snapping his own arm out and sending a blast of energy right into Kiro, throwing him back into Hebanu and Heruru's arms. "I wouldn't make reckless attacks like that again if I were you." Pulling his arm back, it fell to his side again, his fangs peaking out from under his top lip as a twisted smile flowed onto his face. "It'll most likely get you killed next time."

Turning his back to the three demons that stood in the doorway, Freyr once again gazed upon the wondrous crystal that was before him. His eyes glued onto the large chunk at the top that was missing, thanks to his earlier raid on the castle.

"Though soon, you'll all be dead inside anyways."

"What do you mean by that?" Heruru growled, flexing his claws a bit. "What are you planning?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Freyr retorted, slowly spinning around to face the three, a twisted hope gleaming in his three demonic eyes.

"No, I won't." Heruru slid his foot forward just before bounding off of it, charging in towards the red skinned demon. "You're not going to be alive long enough to accomplish it!"

"You're faster than your demon-wannabe friend there," Freyr, with his demonic speed, threw his arm up, catching Heruru right in the face with his fist. A surge of power went through Freyr's limb, shooting into Heruru at point blank range and throwing him at high velocity into the wall on the side of the door. Cracks spread through the golden tile as Heruru's stunned body stayed glued in place for the moment. "But you are all failures when compared to my power."

Peeling off, Heruru's numb body went collapsing to the floor. The loud thump that was made was first heard by Joe, who happened to be the first human to rush into the room.

Eyes wide, he looked from the limp body, slowly regaining life as it stirred, to the demon and vampire standing next to the large, clear crystal that stood in the middle of the golden chamber.

Behind him, the rest of the gang had caught up, staring at the scene before them.

"Great, a gaggle of humans just show up." Freyr smirked. "It'll be good to watch you suffer the first shock waves emitted."

…

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Tenmashin Soul Hell**  
Magic  
Send all cards on your side of the field and in your hand to the graveyard to activate this card. Remove from your graveyard 4 Dark Fiend-type monsters and 4 Ligth Fairy-type monsters to Special Summon 1 of each "Sky Scourge Enrise", "Sky Scrouge Norleras", and "Sky Scourge Invicil" from your graveyard to your side of the field, ignoring summoning conditions.

Freyr: "The cost of removing a total of eight, specifically labeled monster from your graveyard is well repaid with the ability to swarm to the field some of the more deadly monsters in my deck. This can provide a major advantage to the game, or completely rip my opponent to shreds."

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	44. Howls of Moonlight

Episode 44: Howls of Moonlight

Joe came bursting into the golden chamber, his head ripping to his left just as he entered to see what the loud crash was that he had heard on the way down the corridor. He watched as the limp body of Heruru slowly peeled off of the golden wall, collapsing on the ground below.

Eyes wide, Joe whipped his head so he was looking forward again, watching as Freyr's arm came back to his side.

The look that coursed through Freyr's three eyes froze Joe solid, a tremor racing down his spinal cord as he swallowed hard.

Kevin, Gurabe, Akina and Reku appeared in the doorway just behind Joe, absorbing the scene that was plastered before them. They were in as much shock as Joe was.

Only two distinct noises were in the air. One being Freyr's demented chuckling, the other being Kiro's and Hebanu's growls, echoing from deep in their throats.

"Looks like I'm a bit outmanned." Holding up his arm, Freyr began to form a large, raven black ball of energy. Coursing with red lightning, the ball of energy grew bigger and bigger until it was about the size of a basket ball, floating inches off of the palm of Freyr's hand. "If only that insubordinate human Tal was here to see this. He'd see why I didn't need any of that human help to begin with. I have real warriors at my disposal!"

"What happened to Tal?" Joe questioned the large demon, who shifted his three eyes towards the young man.

"He learned not to try and betray me." Freyr lifted his free left arm, curling it into a fist with his thumb outstretched. With a quick movement, he showed everyone in the room him dragging his thumb through the air, inches from his neck. Dead.

"_He killed him?!"_ Reku watched as Freyr slowly let both of his hands fall simultaneously, the black ball of energy drifting forward and expanding into a large sphere. Dying out, the sphere left two figures standing before the demonic beast.

Both of them were human in appearance, standing tall coated in the tinted dark armor and wielding weapons by the sides. One had a short, dome like helmet that came down on its rather thick head, blades protruding from the side just above two pointed ears. The monster was obviously of Elvin decent. The other was a much skinner warrior, his Chinese-style head piece of armor covered his head, running down to its shoulder pads. His dark, off white, baggy pants were the only thing that didn't look as if they would offer the monster very much protection.

The two monsters swung their weapons through the air, showing that they were skilled with them. The elf man had a long, double bladed sword, while the skinner warrior wielded a long pike.

"That's Celtic Guardian!" Kevin realized, pointing to the first warrior, slowly moving his hand to the other one, he continued with his shock. "And the other one is Moon Envoy!" He arm retracted slightly, his eyes filling with curiosity. "Though, they look different. They are so…dark in color."

"Is he dueling us?" Joe questioned, looking at the two monsters stepping forward.

"Those are Duel Monster Spirits." Gurabe announced, stepping forward. "He summoned his own servants to help do his fighting!"

"Then we shall tear his little buddies to shreds." Kiro growled, flexing his claws a bit.

"No." Gurabe stepped forward, just standing behind the young demon. "Let them pass and we'll deal with them. You take care of Freyr and Dementia. They must be stopped, and you guys are the only ones who might stand a chance against him."

"He's right." Hebanu slowly inched towards Kiro, moving pasted him to where his brother was slowly pulling himself to his feet. Behind him, Kiro moved over, watching as the two knights passed by, pushing the small group of humans into the large, square room just on the other side of the chamber.

"Now what?" Joe asked, watching the two warriors at the other end of the room raise their weapons towards him for disturbing the semi-quiet.

"Well, Duel Monster Spirits like to do what they understand the most." Gurabe explained, pointing to the two of them. "Fight. So if someone doesn't want to actually try to wrestle them to the ground, I suggest activating your duel disk."

"Fine." Akina slowly stepped forward, he duel disk humming to life at the press of a button. Holding it out before her, the arms of the duel tray snapped out, latching into place before the device, sliding down to the side of it and locking into position. "I'll duel one of these two."

"Then you shall duel me." The Moon Envoy spoke with a deep, rumbling echo to his voice. Stepping forward and passing his pike back to the elf warrior who took it, more in shock of it suddenly being thrust into his face. "Hold this." He commanded as his left arm was thrust high into the air, a pale yellow duel disk appeared upon his wrist in a rush of light.

Pulling his arm down, the Moon Envoy showed off his custom model as it activated, a crescent shape duel tray jutting outwards from the left side of a perfectly round wrist gadget. Lighting up, lines traced their way around the crescent shaped duel tray, indicating monster zones, while holes opened up just under them for magic and trap cards.

Opening up, a secret compartment on the wrist gadget popped up, showing a large stack of cards that apparently was the monsters deck. Behind it, a large black bar started to glow, crimson red numbers inside quickly counting up to 4000.

"Fine, let's duel." Akina slid her own deck into her duel disk, the life point bar mimicking her opponent's.

* * *

Making it to his feet, Heruru's eyes locked upon the red demon, anger seething out. 

"I'll kill you!" He roared, blasting forward again. This time though, his brother was right in toe and Kiro not too far behind him. All three of them made a impressive charge at the demon, actually making contact with him and tackling him back against the large crystal.

Roaring in pain as he hit, Freyr swung his arms forward and his head back, blasting out a huge bubble of energy, throwing all three demons away from him and back against the walls of the room.

Sliding down, the three of them landed on their feet, breathing hard already from the battle.

"What the hell are we going to do to stop him?!" Kiro yelled out to the two demon brothers.

"We rip him to shreds!" Heruru yelled back his response, taking another dive towards the enemy.

Landing before him this time, Freyr's face snapped to the side as Heruru's fist came flying in and landing on his cheek. Another of Heruru's punches landing right in the torso of the red beast, causing him to slide back slightly against the crystal yet again.

"You want to play rough?" Freyr snarled, grabbing a hold of Heruru's arm. Whipping him back in one full motion, Freyr launched him through the air and into his awaiting brother's arms. The two demons found themselves in a pile on the floor.

"What?!" Kiro's reaction time seemed incredibly sluggish as the next thing he knew, the red demon was before him, picking him up by the shirt collar and chucking him over his head. He landed on Heruru and Hebanu with three loud grunts racing out through the golden room.

"Now you shall see the ultimate power." Freyr's twisted smile was only amplified in horror with his three eyes glowing black and red. His arm's racing upward, he send a beam of purple and blue energy coursing through the air and onto the demon doggie-pile. But…nothing happened.

"I…can't move!" Hebanu noticed, struggling not only against the two demons weight that was on top of him. But an added weight from some invisible force.

"I can't either!" Kiro, who was on top, yelled out, struggling against what every force field was keeping him in place. "Freyr, you bastard! What in the hell did you do to us?!"

"You three needed to sit still for a few moments." Freyr was dusting his hands off as he spoke, slowly walking back towards the giant crystal that rested in the center of the room. "My binding force should hold you for a decent amount of time. In which, you will get to watch me work. The egg is cracking, and the new world is about to sprout out from it to see the light of day."

His arms went into the air, palms facing skyward. The glowing eyes cranked back to stare at the ceiling high above in the room. In his line of sight, a large ring of the crystal chunks he had stolen appeared in a field of purple and black light.

"It's here." Freyr's arms began to slowly drop down, the ring of rocks following. They moved down until they were right around the body of the crystal. "The raw energy I need."

Spiraling clockwise very slowly, the crystals began to circle the body of the main crystal.

"So very soon…"

* * *

"Duel!" Both players shouted. 

Akina-4000 LP  
Moon Envoy-4000 LP

"You'll find the stakes of this game a bit more than you can handle." The young man spoke, yanking six cards from the top of his deck, fanning them open in his right hand before sliding them into his left. "In the end, you'll be losing more than just the game. But for now, I'm taking the first turn, and playing my Lunar Queen Elzaim (750/1100) in attack mode!"

A short, slim woman floated out of a twister of sparks, hovering high above the monsters head, almost touching the ceiling with her head of pale red hair. Hovering down, her pale peach dress flapped with the wind running through it, landing her soft, bare feet gently onto the titled floor. From her back, large, white angel wings spread out, multiple feathers falling to the earth.

"I end my turn with that." The Moon Envoy spoke, crossing his arms over his chest the best he could with the duel disk on his arm.

"Draw!" Akina yelled out, taking her turn. Drawing all six of her own cards in one motion, she opened them up and began to formulate her plan to counter-attack. Freeing one of the cards, she flipped it up and slid it into her duel disk to start her move. "I activate the magic card; Wind of the Light!"

All around Akina, a vortex of light appeared, spiraling up her body, gently pulling at her clothing. Her hair was whipping back with the gentle breeze that was being generated. Smirking, she reached out and pulled her deck out of her duel disk, fanning it open.

Suddenly, up behind her sprung up a tiny creature with four large, clear butterfly wings flapping like made to keep the blond haired woman afloat. Giggling a bit, the little fairy adjusted the large, pointed blue hat that was sitting upon her head. (1300/500)

"Wind of the Light lets me summon a level three or lower monster from my deck to my side of the field, when I have no cards out." Akina announced as she slid her deck back into her duel disk. "I choose the level two monster; Pixie Knight!"

Giggling like a little school girl, the pixie hovered slowly down over Akina's head, looking down at the human below who was whipping her arm forward. Yanking it back, she slapped the card she held between her fingers down onto her duel disk.

"I can't use the special summoned monster this turn as a tribute, but I still can normal summon" Akina spoke, removing her hand from the card she had slapped down onto her duel disk. A geyser of light erupted before her, causing her to smile, "So I summon Petit Dragon (600/700), attack mode!"

A cute, small, yellow serpent dragon monster with a very cartoon-like face came hovering down next to the pixie. A wide smile creased its bubble-like jaw.

"And now my Pixie Knight attacks your Lunar Queen!" Announcing the attack with vigor, Akina sent her small pixie warrior across the field in a blaze of magical flames, ramming into the pale skinned woman with her shoulder before bouncing off and flying back to Akina's field with a giggle.

A mixture of pink, purple and blue flame erupted from the clothing of the woman, causing her to scream out in pain. Her body shattered into a large amount of data fragments, raining down upon the Moon Envoy.

Akina-4000 LP  
Moon Envoy-3450 LP

"Go Petit Dragon! Attack him directly with your Petit Flame!" Akina's attack continued, thrusting her small dragon into the mix.

Racing across the field, the monster's jaw opened wide, spewing ruby red flames out across the duelist's body, causing him to whip up his arms in order to shield himself from the intense heat being generated.

Akina-4000 LP  
Moon Envoy-2850 LP

"Alright Akina!" Joe cried from the sidelines, watching as Akina's little dragon hovered down on the right side of her, while the pixie hovered on the left. "Keep it up and this guy will be gone in no time!"

"Will do." She smiled at him before turning back to the duel. Yanking a card free from her hand, she slid it into her duel disk. "I set this face-down, ending my turn there."

"Foolishly falling into my obvious trap." The Moon Envoy chuckled, his arms hovering before him where he had them shielding him just a moment before. "Now you'll see what I mean. Draw!" Yanking a card free from his deck, the monster chuckled a bit at the image, adding the card into his hand.

Snapping on like a spot light, a massive array of light came streaming down from above the Moon Envoy. Riding the light like a beautiful princess; a brown haired angel wrapped tightly in white robs came gently to the ground before the monster. Spreading out her long, dove white feathered wings, the woman giggled a bit, cupping her hands before her. (1500/1300)

"I summon my Maiden of the Moonlight in attack mode. Leaving your Petit Dragon wide open to the assault was the big mistake that you made there. Attack!"

Between her cupped hands, a small sphere of light began to glow. Thrusting her arm back, she whipped it forward, chucking the orb of light directly at the small dragon, causing it to scream in terror as the attack raced forward.

"I reveal my set card!" Akina interrupted, whipping her arm across her body. "Go! Silver Dollar!" Flipping up, the set trap began to glow, the image of a large silver dollar coin in the middle of it. "This card will negate the attack of a monster on your side of the field against a monster on mine with 1000 or less attack."

"Would." The moon envoy laughed a bit to himself, looking at the confused human before. "I would, if I didn't counter it."

"But how? You have nothing out." Joe protested, whipping his arm through the air.

"So?" The Moon Envoy chuckled, yanking a card from his hand free. "Did you happen to forget that during your turn, you can activate quick-play magic cards from your hand?" The card was slowly pushed into his duel disk, the image appearing before him in a ripple of light. "I activate my quick-play card; Trap Booster! By discarding my Wolf card," holding up a yellow bordered card with the name 'Wolf' written across the top, "I can activate a trap card from my hand."

Sliding the said card into his graveyard, the Moon Envoy then yanked another card from his hand, sliding it into his duel disk so that it appeared next to the magic card.

"Go! Trap Jammer!"

"NO!" Akina's eyes grew wide as she saw the counter trap coming into place. Her trap shriveled up, crumbling under invisible weight, now unable to save her little dragon from the oncoming attack, which crashed into the center of the monsters head, causing it to explode instantly.

Akina-3100 LP  
Moon Envoy-2850 LP

"Trap Jammer negates a trap in the battle step, like your Silver Dollar." The Moon Envoy smirked, the two card combo fading off of his field as he talked. "Leaving your monster defenseless, and ripe for picking off."

The Maiden giggled along with its master, pleased that it could help in some way.

"I finish my turn there." He spoke, his duel disk being lowered to his side.

"Draw!" Akina cried out, jerking a card from her deck and flipping it over to see its face. Adding the card to her hand, she looked up at the female monster that stood as a barrier between her and the Moon Envoy. _"I don't have anything on hand that can deal with 1500 attack points."_ She thought to herself as she reached for her duel tray.

Crouching down, the pixie's happy face turned rather disappointed as she was forced to move onto the defensive. Under her, in a ripple of yellow and white light, an orange bordered card appeared.

"I can't do anything else this turn but shift my monster to defense mode." Akina spoke, pulling her hand back from her duel disk.

"Then my assault shall continue." The Moon Envoy smirked, drawing a card from his own deck and flipping it over to gaze upon the face.

Flipping through the air, the card cut its path to the duel disk, landing right next to the Maiden of the Moonlight card. His duel disk began to glow, data surging through it as the card materialized before him.

"I summon, in attack mode, my Gene-Warped Warwolf!" The card began to erupt in a pillar of light, blasting out a large, white, four armed beast that came crashing down next to the sweet lady. It's purple mane jerked skywards with the force of the impact, then whipped forward as the monster's head was tossed back, a mighty roar bellowing from deep inside its throat. The animalistic human, flexed its muscles as it took a fighting stance. (2000/100)

Above the head of the beast, a large, golden moon appeared, shining its rays down upon the Gene-Warped Warwolf, causing a lovely golden aura to swiftly flare up around him. (2300/400)

"Even a wolf warped by science is still a creature of the moonlight. Howling blissfully into the night, right?" The Moon Envoy chuckled, lifting his hand upwards to point to the large golden moon against the ceiling. "And the power of my Mystical Moon equipment spell will give him 300 more attack and defense points to use against you."

Shifting his weight, his left hand was thrust forward, the Maiden of the Moonlight racing down past him, forming a large, glowing sphere again between her cupped hands.

"Maiden of the Moonlight Attack! Moon Spotlight!"

With a baseball-like pitch, the monster blasted the attack forward, incinerating the small pixie in an instant.

"Pixie Knight's effect kicks in!" Akina began, sliding the card into her duel disk, grabbing another card that was shot out. "When it's destroyed, you select one magic card in my graveyard and it is placed on top of my deck. But since I've only used one magic card, the choice is pretty obvious I would think." Flipping her Wind of the Light around to show the Moon Envoy, she quickly slid it on top of her deck.

"Doesn't matter." The Moon Envoy's mouth curled into a twisted grin. "This will still sting. Direct attack!"

Barreling forward, the large behemoth sliced through the air with all four arms, bringing them diagonally down across Akina's torso, sending her sliding backwards on the tiled floor.

In a fluid motion, the beast landed on the ground and sprung off, making an impressive back flip and landing on the Moon Envoy's field yet again.

Akina-800 LP  
Moon Envoy-2850 LP

"Your draw is stacked, well, but it won't save you for long." The Moon Envoy chuckled, waving his arm across his body. "Turn end."

"Draw!" Akina instantly slid the drawn Wind of the Light card into her duel disk, causing the image to materialize before her. Yanking out her deck and fanning it open, she began to scan for a card she wanted. It didn't take long before a card was slapped onto her duel disk. "I choose to summon Jerry Bean Man (1750/0) as my level three or lower monster."

A small, yellow, bean-shaped creature holding a dual-bladed sword and a small, brown shield appeared before Akina. Slashing the sword through the air, the mighty little monster began to giggle like a child with amusement.

"And for a monster in defense mode, I'll summon my Formation Guard!" Akina continued speaking as she slapped down another orange bordered monster card.

Rising out of the holographic card image that sprung to life upon the field before her, a large, human-like machine appeared, kneeling down. Its two arms were large halves of a shield which became whole as the monster slammed them together. (200/1100)

Jutting up from the back of the monster, a large, golden coin went flipping up into the air, landing on the golden floor with a large Eye or Ra carved into it.

"Alright, my monster has a special effect." Akina began, clenching her right fist just before her face. "When it's summoned, I get to flip a coin. If I flip tails; you can't attack a face-up defense position monster if it has three or less stars." Thrusting her hand forward, Akina motioned to the coin. "But since I flipped heads; you can't attack a monster with three or less stars in attack mode!"

"Akina's move was pretty good." Kevin observed, smirking a bit. "She can probably take this duel back into her own hands with it."

"Forcing him to attack her Pixie Knight by leaving it as the only monster on the field was risky," Reku cut in, looking at the field, "But her luck paid off and she erected a bit of a way to prevent much life point loss hopefully next turn. It'll depend on what he plays."

"But for now, it's Akina's attack!" Joe smiled, watching as Akina thrust her arm forward.

"Jerry Bean Man go! Destroy his Maiden of the Moonlight!" Flying forward, the little yellow bean whipped its small sword high over its head, glinting in the light of the golden moon. "Bean Slash!" Running the sword down through the body of the woman, she exploded into a million pixels, vaporizing as they raced outwards from the battle.

Akina-800 LP  
Moon Envoy-2600 LP

"And my turn is done!" Akina announced, pleased with her come back thus far.

Her little bean warrior floated down before her, a small green aura flowed up around it, produced by the guarding monster that was next to it.

"Then I go," the Moon Envoy spoke as the top card was drawn from his deck. Flicking it over, he shoved it into his hand, gazing over what all he had. _"Almost there."_ He smirked, letting his left hand slide down to his side. "Now go! Gene-Warped Warwolf attack her Formation Guard!"

Blasting off of its hind legs, the large genetic beast came racing towards the shielded monster, slashing across the barrier with its four arms, shattering the shield instantly. Flying backwards slightly, the small Mechanoid human exploded in a fiery death.

With its task complete the werewolf jumped back to the Moon Envoy's field. A low growl escaped its throat as it did.

"Take your turn." The Moon Envoy's smooth voice echoed through the room. Akina raised her left arm, placing her right hand fingers on the top card of her deck and yank it off.

"Draw!" She cried, flipping the card up so that she could see its face. A smile pulled at her soft lips, the card being flipped over and shoved into her duel disk. "Pot of Greed activate! This card lets me draw twice more!"

Sliding two more cards off of her deck, Akina began to formulate a plan in her mind for what she could do. The five cards spread out before her were divided up by her fingers as some of them were pulled out and shoved into her duel disk.

"I set two cards face-down to start with." The two cards materialized before her feet, but were suddenly being rocked by a large wind. "Following up, I activate my Giant Trunade! This magic card carries with it the power to send all magic and trap cards back to the players' hands from the field. That includes both of my set cards, and your Mystical Moon!"

"What good will that do you?" The Moon Envoy inquired, pulling the magic card out of his duel disk. The golden moon above his monster suddenly vanishing into the air, leaving no trace of it. (Gene-Warped Warwolf 2000/100)

"A lot." Akina smirked, pulling out the two cards on her duel disk and holding them up. A bright light shot up around her, sprinkling her with tiny, twinkling water droplets.

Akina-1800 LP  
Moon Envoy-2600 LP

"The two cards I returned are known as Insurance. One Insurance card, when returned from my field to my hand, gives me 500 life points. So with both of them," whipping the two cards off to the side, she smirked a bit, "I gain 1000 points." The two cards were then slid back into her duel disk, once again appearing behind her bean-like warrior. "Now I set two cards, and sacrifice my Jerry Bean Man in order to summon,"

Picking up the card, the Jerry Bean Man vanished from the field. Sliding the card into her graveyard, Akina yanked another card from her hand, placing it down vertically onto her duel disk causing a large geyser of sparks to go racing skyward in the small room. Out from the pillar of light, a large, glass crystal emerged, slowly hovering forward. Inside the confines of the jewel walls, a small fairy-like woman sat, almost appearing as if she was crying. (2000/1300)

"Fairy in the Crystal, attack mode!"

Glowing, the large monster began to shoot off a radiant light that spiraled high in the air above it. Twisting and turning about, the rainbow colored aura crashed down on both sides of the monster, creating four large, stone carved angel tokens. (500/500)

"When Fairy in the Crystal is summoned." Akina explained, holding up four cards she had pulled from her deck. Sliding them into her graveyard she continued. "I must send the top cards of my deck equal to the number of free spaces on my field to my graveyard. Once I do, four Crystal Fairy Tokens will be summoned in defense mode." Her dual disk came back to her side as she finished. "That is all I will do on my turn. It is now your move."

"Draw." The Moon Envoy picked the top cards from his deck, flicking it over to see it. _"She thinks she's pulled out a good wall with that move, but I'll easily destroy it!"_

"I reveal my set card!" Akina interrupted before the Moon Envoy could go any further. One of her set Insurance cards flipped up, glowing a bright yellow and red light that caused her other card to vanish from the field. "Insurance comes with another effect. I can return a card from my field to my hand when I activate it. Since I'm returning my other Insurance card, my life points will take a boost again."

Akina-2300 LP  
Moon Envoy-2600 LP

"It doesn't matter; it's about time I pulled out my big guns!" The Moon Envoy held up his hand of five cards as he spoke. His eyes fell upon his combos that he had finally been able to pull together. Yanking one card out, he slid it gently into the crescent moon duel disk. "I activate the ritual magic card; Synthesis Spell!"

Large, golden rings came erupting from the ground floor, quickly encasing the white wolf-man on the field as they shot upwards and hit the sealing, pulsating across the roof. Growling a bit, the Gene-Warped Warwolf vanished in a fizzle of light, being replaced a second later by a two legged wolf monster dressed in armor with a large, silver axe thrown over its shoulder. That creature too, vanished in a fizzle of light, causing the rings that shot up towards the ceiling to increase in momentum.

"I need a total sacrifice of six or more stars. So I sacrifice my level four Gene-Warped Warwolf and my level four Wolf Axwielder (1650/1000), in order to ritual summon;"

A blue bordered card was yanked from its spot in the monsters hand, being slashed through the air before making contact with the duel tray. From there, a large beam of light jutted off, crashing into the veil of rings on the field.

Slow, gravelly, a deep growl echoed through the room as the light subsided, leaving only a large wolf standing on the Moon Envoy's field. Its body had metallic wires racing all around the outside of it, being plugged into ports that were on the beast's body.

Metal Claws ripped outwards from the flesh on the beast's hands, being pounded against the leg of the beast, which was incased in a pair of torn and ragged jeans.

"Lycanthrope! (2400/1800) My ultimate ritual monster! The ultimate servant of the moon!"

"Lycanthrope?" Akina watched in horror as the werewolf crouched down upon all fours, preparing to strike. The synthetic being was incredibly buff and was coursing with the will to kill.

"Remember this card you placed back in my hand?" The Moon Envoy continued, smirking a bit as he flipped over another card from his hand, sliding it gently into his duel disk. "My Lycanthrope is a Beast-Warrior monster, meaning the power of my Mystical Moon will increase its attack and defense!"

Sure enough, the golden move appeared hovering inches below the ceiling, showering the unnatural being in its soothing light. A howl erupted from the beast as the power of the moon began to flow through its body. (2700/2100)

"Rip her crystal being to shreds!" The Moon Envoy ordered, his wolf monster bounding forward with vigor.

Landing on the side of the floating glass monster, the Lycanthrope wielded its arm back, thrusting it forward and right through the side. Grabbing the small fairy inside, the beast squeezed until the woman yelled in pain, shattering into a million data bits, its chamber following suit afterwards.

Akina-1600 LP  
Moon Envoy-2600 LP

"This isn't over yet." The Moon Envoy's clenched its fist as it spoke. "The effect of my Lycanthrope kicks in! When battle damage is inflicted to your life points; 200 points is deducted from your life for each normal monster cards I house in my graveyard."

"What?!" Akina's eyes grew wide as she realized his tactics thus far was just to build up massive burn damage. She watched in horror as the wolf beast ripped its jaw open, a loud pulsating roar blasting out over her body. She began to shiver uncontrollably for a few moments as the attack forced her down to one knee.

Akina-600 LP  
Moon Envoy-2600 LP

"I hold five normal monsters; Lunar Queen Elzaim, Wolf, Maiden of the Moonlight, Gene-Warped Warwolf and Wolf Axwielder. At 200 points each, 1000 points of damage is dealt to you." The Moon Envoy smirked, a clear image of each of his monsters appearing behind him for a brief second as he explained the effect of the genetic beast that was once again standing before him. The monsters faded away as the man let his arm come back down to his side. "There is very little you can do to stop me now. You're in position to be brought down. I am done with my turn."

Akina shook her head, throwing the stunned feeling racing through her to the wind. Standing up, she placed her fingers on the top card of her deck. _"Now what can I do? I need to overcome that behemoth somehow."_

Drawing her top card, she flipped it over to see what it was. Taking the card, she slid it into her duel disk face-down, the card image appearing just before her feet. She took her eyes from the card long enough to gaze at her four defenders.

"I end my turn."

"Draw!" Yanking the top card off of his deck, the Moon Envoy looked a bit disappointed at the uselessness of the card in the situation. Adding it to his hand, his head cranked up to stare at the field. "I'll just pick off your defenders one at a time. Go!"

Bounding forward, the Lycanthrope raced on all fours towards the four towering statues that stood before Akina. Sliding to a stop just before them, it swung it's metal claw back behind it, preparing to strike.

"Trap card activate!" Akina bellowed out, her set card flipping up.

"What?!" The Moon Envoy cried out with shock. All he saw from his rear view of the battle was his wolf creature being impaled by two long arms with incredibly sharp claws pointing outwards.

"I've chosen to activate my set card; Two-Pronged Attack. By destroying two of my own creatures, I can destroy one of yours. So I am sacrificing two of my tokens to ride myself of the plague of your monster." Shattering, along with two, also impaled, statues, the three monsters bid farewell to the field. The only remains of the beast were a thin, white vapor that spiraled around Akina and sunk deep into her deck of cards. "And now I activate the effect of my tokens. If two of them are destroyed in one turn, I get to sacrifice my next draw phase in order to pull any magic card I want from my deck and place it into my hand."

Groaning a bit, the Moon Envoy rechecked his hand cards while his opponent flipped through her deck. He had nothing.

"I end my turn there." He sighed.

"Goodie." Akina smiled, pleased with how well her move worked. Shuffling her deck she slid it back into her duel disk before shifting her left hand to see the three cards she was holding. "I'll just use the magic card I gained from my tokens! Monster Reborn go!"

An Egyptian symbol appeared high over her head. Glowing, a ray of light erupted from the object, producing the large, crystallized monster that once stood on Akina's field, not but a few turns before.

"And I'll shift my remaining two tokens into attack position." Akina announced, the two statues sliding up next to the slightly revolving monster in the middle of them. "This is it! Attack him directly with all of your force!"

Shooting forward in unison, the three monsters went flying over the gap like three stones. Crashing into the chest of the armored man, he went flying backwards into the arms of the Celtic Guardian.

Akina-600 LP  
Moon Envoy-0 LP

"Damn you…" The Moon Envoy coughed a bit, blood trickling out of the side of his mouth. "You got lucky…human. That's all." Taking another break, the monster hacked a bit of dry air from his throat before looking at Akina, who was deactivating her duel disk. "You may have stopped me…but Lord Freyr has already…won. And…you…know it."

His body began to melt into particles of light, vanishing from the arms of the green armored elf. The pike that it was also holding seemed to vaporize into the air with its master's departure from this world.

"Now you've made me angry." The Celtic Guardian stepped forward, ready to take his place in the dueling arena. "Let's get this going. I will avenge my fallen comrade! Prepare to be slaughtered little girl."

"Not likely." Joe stepped forward, holding up his left arm. "I think that you'll be facing me instead of her." Joe's duel disk began to hum, snapping up and then down to the side where the duel tray locked into dueling position. "I'll be more than a challenge for you."

"You'll be a large disappointment I'm sure." The Celtic Guardian held out his left arm. His green armor along his arm seemed to began to melt, jutting outwards and reshaping itself into an odd design. Forming a scythe head like curve, the armor began to harden again to make the monsters duel tray. Golden lines began to trace their way around it, making the monster card zones, while five slots melted away below them for the magic and trap cards. Along his arm, a large red orb appeared directly in the middle of his forearm, just the left of it, the armor melded into an archway where his deck of cards would sit. "I'll will be the one to pick you off now one at a time."

As he spoke, he reveled a large stack of brown cards; which he instantly slid into the awaiting deck slot. The red jewel began to shimmer, and four white digits appeared within it.

"You will be disappointed alright if you think that." Joe countered, sliding his own deck of cards into his own duel disk, the life point counters shooting skyward.

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Lycanthrope  
**2400/1800/6/Earth/Beast-Warrior**  
**This card can only be Ritual Summoned with the Ritual Spell Card, "Synthesis Spell". When this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent, inflict 200 damage to your opponent for each Normal Monster in your Graveyard.

Akina: "Lycanthrope, a powerful ritual monster card, is a beast in more then one sense of the word. Like all rituals, it has its specific ritual summoning costs, but in the right deck, this card can be well worth it. Having enough normal monster cards in your graveyard will give this monster hidden power, burning the opponent for 200 extra points per monster when it inflicts damage. That can add up fast!"

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	45. Mastery of the Arts

Episode 45: Mastery of the Arts

Anticipation growing by the second, the two duelists glared each other down. The room was silent of voices while the two of them drew their five cards from their decks. Joe's eyes shifted from his Elvin opponent to the five cards in his hand, scanning over each on to examine his options.

The Celtic Guardian fanned open his own five cards with a jerk of his wrist, moving them up so that he could examine them with his eyes. His pale skin on his face stretched as his lips pulled back into a smile.

Joe-4000 LP  
Celtic Guardian-4000 LP

"I shall _not_ be disappointed with this kind of hand at my disposal." The monster boasted, breaking the silence. Crossing his arms the best he could across his chest, he looked at Joe. "But in good sportsmanship, you take first move."

"You won't get a complaint out of me!" Joe threw in, drawing the sixth card from his deck and adding it to his hand. _"Not the best, but I can work around with it I think."_ He mumbled to himself, pulling two cards from his hand and sliding them into his duel disk. The card images appeared before his feet in a vortex of light and sparks. "I start my turn by setting these two cards face-down on my side of the field. And then…"

Joe slapped down another card, this one appearing horizontally before the two set cards. Out of the yellow colored card, a large, blue skinned woman with flowing golden hair appeared. Her hands were clasped before her chest, chanting something under her breath in a song like melody. He flowing green dress pulled tight as she crouched down on the card. (800/2000)

"I summon Mystical Elf in defense mode to end my move!"

"Are you trying to mock me by playing that elf?" The Celtic Guardian narrowed his brow, suspecting that being the case. "You will pay for it."

"You take it in what ever context you want to. Just make your move." It was Joe's turn to cross his arms before his chest, awaiting his opponent to make his follow up move to Joe's.

"_I have to wonder what kind of deck this monster will play."_ Reku pondered, watching the Celtic Guardian uncross his arms, holding up his left arm and prepare to draw his opening sixth card. _"The Moon Envoy's deck sure looked to be pretty tough on its own. Akina struggled a bit with it. Joe has to be prepared for anything."_

"Draw!" The Celtic Guardian began, sliding the drawn card from his deck into his hand. Extensively thinking of all his options, he yanked out one of the cards and slapped it down on his armor duel disk. "I summon Monk Fighter in attack mode!"

Arriving on the field before the green armored monster, a tall, skinny gray haired man dressed in tight yellow clothing landed barefooted on the floor. Its weathered fist was extended forward in a massive display of power and force as it punched the air. (1300/1000)

"And to my Monk Fighter, I give this unmistakable power." The Celtic Guardian whipped one of the cards from his hand and slid it into his duel disk. "Unmatchable Technique. A magic card that can equip to one of my Monk fighting cards. When I equip it, my monsters attack points shoot up by 1000, and he gains a powerful battling technique, dealing you 1000 points of damage when your monsters are killed while he attacks!" The Celtic Guardian explained as his monster began to moan with power, displaying some more martial arts moves as his attack rose. (2300/1000)

"I don't like where this is going." Joe growled under his breath. Nervously he eyed his two set cards before bringing his attention back to the duel.

"Monk Training Fist!" The Celtic Guardian whipped his arm forward, sending his gray haired warrior into battle. Sliding his fist through the air, the monster charged bravely into battle. Throwing his weight into it, the monster sent his fist spiraling into the blue skinned woman.

As the monk returned, the Celtic Guardian began to frown. "Why aren't you losing life points?"

It's because, before the battle, I activated one of my set cards!" Joe explained, pointing to the empty spot on his field where a card used to sit. "It's called Hallowed Life Barrier, and by discarding one card from my hand," Joe held up a card to show his opponent; Ghost of Kuriboh. "I can make all battle and effect damage to my life points zero. It's a shame that it didn't protect my monster, but because of that, I can activate this!"

Joe's arm whipped over to his other set card, causing it to spring upward and began glowing. The purple bordered card had a large picture of many wizards and sorceresses monsters that are in the game, all standing in a line like a large family portrait. In the middle, raised up higher than the others, a Dark Magician stood with its arms crossed.

"Magical Family Connection is a continuous trap card that can only be activated when a spellcaster type monster is destroyed and sent to the graveyard." Joe explained, letting his body rest again. "When another spellcaster is destroyed, a Dark Magician is added from my deck or grave to my hand."

"Like that will help you." The Celtic Guardian shrugged it off. "I end my turn."

"It will, trust me." Joe smirked, yanking his duel disk up and pulling the top card from it. "Draw!"

The card was pulled back before Joe's eyes, making a sinister grin come over his face. Flipping over the card, he revealed a green bordered card to his opponent.

"I activate the effect of my Last Will magic card. With this card on the field, if a monster is sent from my field to the graveyard, I can special summon one monster from my deck with 1500 attack or less." Glowing, Joe's magic card was shoved into his duel disk before another card was released from his hand and slapped down on his duel tray. "I then summon this turn. Come out; Neo the Magical Swordsman!"

A blond haired man erupted from the card hologram on Joe's field, flying high over head before landing with a loud 'clunk' of its armor. It's thin, double bladed sword was slashed through the air before being brought down before his forest green colored chest plate. (1700/1000)

With his hands whipping through the air, Joe took the last card he held and slid it into his duel disk in an open magic/trap slot. With a geyser of lights, the magic card appeared behind the magical warrior, causing him to glow in its feint light.

"I activate my last magic card; Gallant Charge!" Joe explained as his monster began crouching down as it prepared to launch across the field. "With this card, my monster will be able to be rewarded for charging into battle so bravely. Taking its attack points out of a monster that is stronger than it. So go Neo! Magical Sword Stab!"

With a gust of energy, the nimble warrior bounded across the field, slashing his sword through the air only to watch it break against the shoulder of the Monk Fighter. Eyes wide, Neo the Magical Swordsman stood there in awe while his opponent doubled up its fist, winding back, and slugging it right in the face.

Joe-3700 LP  
Celtic Guardian-4000 LP

"And with the effect of my Gallant Charge, the battle damage I take from the attack is cut in half." Joe explained, holding up Neo before sliding it into his graveyard. "But this sets my plan right in motion; first off, I trigger my Magical Family Connection."

The trap card shattered, leaving a faint after-image of a Dark Magician before it faded away.

"By sacrificing it, I can add Dark Magician from my deck to my hand!" Joe explained as he fanned open his deck, taking the said card out and placing it into his hand. With his deck still revealed to him, he began to speak again. "And my Last Will triggered, allowing me to special summon; Life Serpent Knight!"

A reptilian beast appeared before Joe suddenly. Slashing its sword through the air, the green skinned monster peered out from under its shiny, silver helmet that covered its head sans its face. The body was also incased in the shiny silver armor, with a large shield resting against its left arm. (1000/800)

"Third part." Joe smirked, pointing to the Celtic Guardian's monster. "Thanks to Gallant Charge, your monster is looking a bit weaker than before!" (Monk Fighter 600/1000) "Attack!"

With a loud hiss, the reptile went bounding across the field, thrusting its sword forward and into the chest of the monster. Screaming, the monk wrapped its hands around the blade, trying desperately to pull it out, but it was no use. Shattering into death, the monster ceased to be.

"Here's the kicker to your plan." The Celtic Guardian picked the cards off of his duel disk, casually taking his time. "My Monk Fighter had a special ability. When he went to the graveyard, battle damage to my life points is zero. Nice try though."

"Damn." Joe cursed, looking down at the single Dark Magician in his hand. "Fine, I end my turn."

"Because you are too pathetic to do anything else." The Celtic Guardian smirked a bit, insulting his opponent just to get him riled up. Lifting his arm, the Elvin knight drew his next card, flipping it over before his face. Cranking like mad, the wheels in the mind of the Celtic Guardian spun around.

Yanking another card from his hand he quickly slid it into his duel disk, watching at the card image appeared before him in a ripple of light and a rush of sparks. The green bordered magic card that appeared had a picture of a strange Egyptian symbol basking in light.

"Monster Reincarnation activates! By discarding one card, I pull one monster card in my graveyard back to my hand." The Celtic Guardian spoke as he slid his Chu-Ske the Mouse Fighter from his hand into the graveyard. Instantly his graveyard spat out the Monk Fighter, which found itself instantly re-summoned to the field.

"_Now I have to deal with that thing again!"_ Joe's eyes narrowed with anger as he watched the gray haired warrior take its battle stance.

"I sacrifice my Monk Fighter." The Celtic Guardian began, picking up the card off of his duel disk.

"What?!" Joe's eyes were growing wide as the monster faded off of the field.

"To special summon with its effect; Master Monk!" (1900/1000) Whipping the card from his hand, the Celtic Guardian thrusted it forward to show Joe before it was slapped down on the armor duel disk.

A ripple of lights and sparks came flowing out of the space that was once occupied by the Monk Fighter. What appeared was a large, buff version of the smaller fighter. Long gray hair fell down the side of the monsters head, flowing down his back to show his age. His face; stone cold, chiseled like rock. He stood shirtless, with only rags of what was his shirt around his waist and brown cloth covering his legs from there down. Curling his toes on his bare feet, the monster slowly took a battle stance. The man seemed so trained that it didn't seem like he wasted even a single breath.

"I can only summon this man by sacrificing a Monk Fighter first." The Celtic Guardian explained to the dumbfounded Joe. "And with his training, great power has come. Watch! Attack his monster!"

The monster became a blur, untraceable with how fast he moved. The next anyone realized, the monster had his foot drove deep into the gut of Joe's lizard monster, causing it to scream out in pain. Retracting his foot, the Monk stood there for a second while the Life Serpent Knight stumbled about.

Joe-2800 LP  
Celtic Guardian-4000 LP

"My…monster can't be destroyed as a result of battle." Joe was watching the monster carefully, waiting for this special power to come.

"Oh, well then he'll make a good punching back for my monster." A wide smile crossed the elf's face. Thrusting his arm out he began to announce his move. "Master Monk comes with the special ability to attack two times in any given turn! Attack again! Monk Mastery Fist!"

Dropping his foot to the ground, the buff man threw his weight forward in his rock hard fist, driving it hard into the chest of the lizard, throwing it back to the ground below, puffing as the air was knocked out of it.

Joe-1900 LP  
Celtic Guardian-4000 LP

"And I finish my move with that." The Celtic Guardian was overly pleased with his move. His monster made a return to his field, forming a battle stance yet again to deal with any new threats.

"Fine, its my turn to go now!" Joe announced loudly, yanking the top card from his deck and placing it with his Dark Magician card. _"Dammit! In a few short turns he managed effortlessly to drain me down to less than fifty percent of my total life score. Yet, even with my combo attack, I couldn't lay a scratch on his life score."_ Looking up at the elf that was his opponent, his brow narrowed. "I shift my Life Serpent Knight into defense mode, ending my turn."

"Draw!" The Celtic Guardian moved without hesitation, plucking his next card from his deck, smirking before he slid it into his duel disk. "One set card on my field is all I will do this turn."

"_I don't like that."_ Joe drew his next card. His gut was feeling twisted thinking of the look on his opponents face when drawing that last card. It had to be something good, he just knew it!

Flicking the drawn card over, Joe gazed at it for a few moments with his own pleasure building inside of him.

"I sacrifice my Life Serpent Knight!" Joe began, slashing the card through the air. "To tribute summon my Gallant Armored Warrior in attack mode!" The card was slapped down onto his duel disk, causing the device to react to the new surge of data being fed into it.

The crouching lizard vanished from the field where it sat. Bursting into the air, a geyser of sparks produced a human-like monster, clad in tight, white armor around its body. The golden sword it held in its left hand was thin but razor sharp on both sides. Landing on the tile, the monster sliced the sword down through the air, brining it back to its side. A loud grunt came from the monster, shoving all of its might up front from the start. (2400/1600)

"My monster may not have an effect, but with his raw power, your so-called 'master' is going down." Boasting, Joe threw his arm forward. "Attack him! Gallant Warrior's Sword!"

"Dangerous, dangerous." The Celtic Guardian's teeth were grinding together as the white armored monster was racing in for the kill. Just as the sword went flying back over the monsters shoulder, he swiped his arm through the air; activating the set card on his field. "Trap card activate; Lone Wolf! A trap that can only be activated if a Master Monk, a Monk Fighter, or a Chu-Ske the Mouse Fighter is sitting alone on my side of the field. This trap will remain face-up then, preventing that monster from being killed in battle, or be affected by any of your monsters special abilities!"

"No way!" Joe watched helpless as his monster's sword came flying down, slashing horizontally across the chest of the monster, only succeeding in pushing him back slightly. Not even a cut appeared on his chest, seeming to be fully protected by a strange sky blue aura that had sprung up seconds before the attack.

Joe-1900 LP  
Celtic Guardian-3500 LP

"But unlike its weaker form, Master Monk doesn't stop me from taking damage." Explained the Celtic Guardian after the life point scores had changed. "But it doesn't matter, I can still win this regardless."

"We'll see." Joe annoyance became apparent in his words. "I finish my move, take your turn."

"Draw!" The Celtic Guardian proceeded to draw his next card, a quirky smile spreading over his face. "I can't believe the type of draws I am having this game. I activate this continuous magic card; Full Day of Meditation! Now, during a turn that my Master Monk doesn't attack, his attack and defense scores will increase by 300 points. Thus, I end my turn."

Flopping down onto his butt, his legs crossed under him, the Master Monk closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. The monster remained still for a couple of moments while his attack score increased. Afterwards, his eyes snapped open and he flew back to his feet, ready for battle again. (2200/1300)

"Then here I go!" Joe drew, looked over the card for a few moments before sliding it into his duel disk. "I set this card face-down to start with." The card appeared behind his large warrior with a ripple of light.

"_Joe is struggling…"_ Kevin realized, watching his buddy clench his fight just before his chest. _"He obviously didn't start out with the best hand, and the Celtic Guardian's dueling strategy seems pretty good. Pretty flawless. Joe is going to need to pull something good…and fast."_

"I attack again!" Joe announced, throwing his arm forward, fingers extended wide so that his palm was facing toward the monk.

Like before, the white armored warrior went blasting in, slicing his sword through the air and across the chest of the waiting monk. Again, no visible damage appeared on the surface, and the Master Monk seemed even less fazed than last time.

Joe-1900 LP  
Celtic Guardian-3300 LP

"I'm done." Joe looked down at the two cards he held, neither of them of much use yet.

"I'm one turn away from overpowering you." The Celtic Guardian announced, making Joe growl a bit, knowing he was right. "I draw, and end my turn!" Flopping down again, the Master Monk returned to his state of meditation, the power flowing through his body before he decided to jump back up again, refreshed as a new man. (2500/1600)

"Not so fast!" Joe cried out, pointing to his set card which was flipping up. "During your end phase I chain my set card; Pact of Greed! With this card, we both draw one more card!" As Joe explained, his opponent had drawn his new card, smirking, Joe yanked two cards from his own deck, one for the effect of his card, one for his draw. Sighing that he didn't get what he was hoping for, Joe reached out and turned the card on his duel disk horizontally. "Gallant Armored Warrior moves to defense mode."

Showing his disgrace in pride, the large armored knight crouched down, covering itself with its sword as its only defense. The yellow bordered card appearing beneath it with a flash of yellow light.

"And I cover this card face-down." Joe continued, sliding one of the cards into his duel disk, watching it appear behind his monster. "I end."

* * *

Freyr's hands were squeezing together in large fists, his knuckles turning a pasty pink color from the powerful grip. Both arms were extended out forward, pointing up towards the large crystal in the center of the room, with the smaller crystals slowly hovering around it. 

"I am about able to reach my two goals…" He spoke, joy gleaming in all three eyes.

"What two goals do you have in mind?" Hebanu asked, struggling with the other two demons to break free of the barrier they were trapped in against the floor.

"In the simplicity of the human mind, they can't comprehend the sheer overwhelming, and honestly, fun powers of being a demon." He was refusing to remove his eyes from the large crystal and the ring around it. "But you have felt both, and know what kind of trauma the power of being a demon brings, right Kiro?"

"Why am I being dragged into your little speech?" Kiro shot back, struggling himself to try and free himself from the barrier.

"It's simple. You are the closest being in the world who could understand what I am trying to do…"

* * *

"Its time to finish you off then." The Celtic Guardian drew his card, smugly boasting as he added it to his hand and pulling out one of his other cards. "This card you handed to me with your own hands! Activate the equipment magic card; Legendary Black Belt!" 

The Master Monk crossed his arms across his chest, showing off a bit while a long, black belt appeared at his waist, tying into a tight knot so as to not come off.

"Here we go! Master Monk attack his Gallant Armored Warrior now! Legendary Mastery Fist!" Announcing his attack, the Elvin warrior send the buff monk straight into battle.

Throwing his arm back, the Master Monk whipped it forward with as much ferocity as he could muster, slamming it right into the side of the monsters golden blade, causing it to shatter instantly. Razor sharp shards went flying back, impaling the monster in the chest plate. Trickles of blood came rushing out of the wounds, staining his perfectly white armor.

Groaning, the monster shattered into a million data-bits, the information floating away from the battle site leaving only the Master Monk standing there with his fist outstretched.

"The effect of my Legendary Black Belt activates." The Celtic Guardian explained with a sinister smirk crossing his face. "When the equipped monster destroys a card, the defense points of the destroyed monster are taking from your life points."

"That's not good." Joe's eyes were growing wide, quickly moving to the card that was now in his hand, just about to be deposited into his graveyard slot. The numbers down in the right hand side of the card in the 'DEF' slot read 1600.

Joe-300 LP  
Celtic Guardian-3300 LP

"And the effect of my monster activates! Attack him again!"

Pulling back his fist, the Monk began to lift his leg, curling it up by his waist. Like a lunging snake, the leg uncoiled and the rock hard foot went barreling towards Joe only to be stopped suddenly by a strange light green force field that sprung up around Joe.

"I've successfully blocked your attack!" Joe cried out, holding up his duel disk and pulling out one of the cards from his graveyard. "Thanks to my Hallowed Life Barrier earlier in the duel, I was able to slip my Ghost of Kuriboh (300/200) into my graveyard. Here is how he works; by removing him from my graveyard from game I get to stop the damage you are about to inflict onto my life points." Flipping the card over, Joe looked at the shocked look on both the Master Monk and the Celtic Guardian.

Letting his foot fall once again to the ground, the Master Monk crouched down, springing backwards and landing on the field before the Celtic Guardian, who was crossing his arms across his chest.

"Luck will only save you so long. My monster is still 2500 points strong, immortal, unaffected by your monster effects and capable of burning you of life points when you try to set up your defender." The Master Monk crossed his own arms, nodding with everything his master was praising him of. His face was alight with all of his accomplishments. "You can't stop me. Take your move!"

Joe felt overwhelmed. Staring into the piercing eyes of his opponent's monster made him realize just what he was up against. His opponent had built up a powerful combo.

"_How can I stop him?"_ Mind racing, he placed his fingers on the top card of his deck, slowly dragging it off and flipping it over to gaze at its face. His doubt faded. The will to keep fighting began to burn deep within him.

Palming the card, he reached for one of the three cards he was already holding in his hand, yanking it out and flipping it over to show his opponent.

"I start this turn by activating the magic card; Polymerization! Fusing from my hand," palming his Polymerization card, he yanked out the last two cards he was holding, flipping them over to show his opponent their faces, "Dark Magician and Buster Blader (2600/2300) into…"

A large vortex formed just over his head, sucking in two tall figures into its oblivion. One was the purple robed wizard, holding his long green staff firmly in both hands. The other was a purple and black armored warrior, who held a long, sharp sword.

"Dark Paladin (2900/2400)!" Erupting skyward, the vortex turned into a cannon, shooting out a dark green armored Dark Magician-looking monster, landing smoothly on the field just before its master. It wielded a large, decorated sword with its wavy blade glinting as the Dark Paladin swung it across its body, brining it down to its side so the tip could rest against the floor. Its face twisted into a scowl, the monster took its free left hand, running it up the front of its tall, pointed, wizard's hat that rested like a helmet against its head.

Joe continued, uninterrupted, moving his hand towards the set card he had on his field, causing it to flip up instantly and begin to glow bright, sending a stream of light out towards the Dark Paladin, engulfing it whole.

"Quick-play magic card go! Gallant Combination Formation!" Forming its own vortex, the Dark Paladin began to warp where it stood on the spot, stopping when it was no more than a spiraling blur of colors. "This card removes from my side of the field or graveyard, one Gallant Armored Warrior and any other fusion material monsters he needs to be with to summon the according fusion from my fusion deck."

Reversing, the vortex undid itself, this time revealing a whole new monsters standing in the place where the Dark Paladin once stood. In both hands, two long, black swords with glinting silver blades came snapping up, next to the white masked face of the new monster. It's long, white robe went flailing out behind it with this motion, whipping dramatically in the wind. (3800/3600)

"I summon in attack mode; Gallant Paladin Swordsmaster!" Joe exclaimed, his excitement boiling up behind his eyes as he stared at the back of his magnificent monster.

"_Only 3800 attack, huh?"_ The Celtic Guardian was watching his opponents move very carefully. _"Not fully spectacular. He'll deal me 1300 points of damage, leaving me with 2000 life points."_

His eyes slowly moved down, landing on one of the magic cards he was holding in his hand.

"_My Kaminote Blow magic card can then, on my next turn, ruin him completely. I can only activate it when I have a face up Chu-Ske the Mouse Fighter, Monk Fighter or Master Monk. Whatever monster battles with these monsters is instantly destroyed, and my life points will take another hit of 1300 leaving me with 700."_ Looking up, his eyes fixated on the Master Monk, a smile slowly tugging at the edge of his mouth as he did. _"But my monsters dual attacking prowess will finish this duel once his stupid monster is dealt with."_

"This duel is over." Joe spoke very sternly, as if he was seeing his opponents growing hope. Holding up his right hand again, he un-palmed the card he hand there, flipping it up to show his opponent a very strange looking magic card. "I activate my Oracles Rage Incarnate Seal of Power-Hematite Crystal!"

"Your what?!" The Celtic Guardian, shock coursing through his blood, could only watch as his opponent slid the card into his duel disk, causing a massive array of sparks to go flying across the air.

The Gallant Paladin Swordsmaster began to shudder, trembling violently as his body began to be wrapped up tightly in the blanket of black lightning bolts that was circling it. From under the armor of the warrior, spikes of dark crystals began to push their way up, breaking through the armor and sticking out of the monster. More and more shot out, acting as rods for the black lightning to hit, sending the power straight into the body of the beast, who in turn began to moan with all the energy it was absorbing. (5300/3600)

Upon both it's and Joe's head, a large circular symbol appeared with a rush of blackish light. The lines on the symbol seemed to be pulled to one side, forming a crescent moon type appetence.

"My Hematite Crystal empowers my Gallant Paladin Swordsman by 1500 additional points." Joe spoke, his voice growing course and rough with the strange card being activated. "Destroy." He spoke calmly, his monster nodding as it slowly began to hover forward.

With a violent outburst, the monster swung the swords around its body, cutting a giant 'X' like pattern through the air and across the chest of the immortal monster.

The Master Monk groaned, but refrained from screaming as it slid back next to its green armored master.

Joe-300 LP  
Celtic Guardian-500 LP

"It isn't enough." The Celtic Guardian laughed, watching his monster began to walk forward again to retake its rightful spot on the dueling field. _"I have this game won. Even with that massive boost, he is too weak to beat me!"_

"It is enough." Joe lifted his hand. "My Gallant Paladin Swordsmaster Hematite Mode now has the same ability that your Master Monk seems to carry with it." With his index finger outstretched, Joe pointed directly at the monster that was now standing only inches from his monster. "Kill! Ultimate Sword of the Gallant! Hematite Killer!"

With its swords, the monster snapped them back to his side, this time bringing them upwards into the 'X' formation as it conducted its second attack. The Master Monk's eyes were wide, incapable of comprehending what was happening until it was too late.

Joe-300 LP  
Celtic Guardian-0 LP

"No way!" The Celtic Guardian stumbled backwards, watching his monster being struck by his opponent. In a blast of light, the monster and all of the cards the Celtic Guardian had built up on the field vanished. "How'd you get so lucky!?" He screamed just before shattering himself into a large spray of data bits.

"No luck." Joe casually pulled his deck out of his duel disk, his body returning to normal now that the duel was done. "I've only got skills in this body!"

Suddenly, the floor began to shake violently, causing all of them to reach out in the air, trying to grab onto something for support.

"What's going on?" Akina shouted, as she and Reku stumbled back over against the wall.

"I don't know!" Joe yelled back, snapping his head around to look at the door that lead to the large chamber, housing the giant crystal inside. "But I could take a fairy good educated guess."

The small group stumbled into the room, staring upon the sights before them. The three demons pinned to the ground, Dementia off against the wall watching with amazed eyes. Freyr stood with arms outstretched before him, pointing to the large circle of crystals, slowly closing in upon the larger one. Between them, large jolts of electricity seemed to be flowing, racing through the larger body and into the earth below, causing a violent reaction.

"What are you doing?!" Reku screamed out, getting no obvious reaction from the demon he was addressing.

Silence. No one made a sound that was made into words. The only sounds were the groans the group was feeling from the tremors racing under their feet.

Finally Freyr spoke.

"My goals. My two, over all goals are finally coming to flourishing!" Eyes wide, with a child like look painted upon them. The same look an excited child gets when they are moments away from getting a present. Getting a sweet treat. Getting what they want. "With this I can finally show the humans what is formed from the greed and anger they emit every day. The things they cannot see, cannot feel, and cannot understand."

"It's becoming incoherent babbling!" Gurabe cried out in a bit of disgust at Freyr's speech.

"You really are funny, you know that human?" Freyr, obviously addressing Gurabe, spoke without turning his head. "I can't even really call you human, as you ceased to be one. You smell of rotting flesh and you have no blood pumping in your veins. A victim. That is what you are. You are a victim." Rolling his shoulders a bit as he spoke, his voice dipped almost into a mocking tone. "You are suffering because you are the end result of the power this crystal has. That's the only reason you're alive. It holds you together like glue. It's the only thing binding your souls together and imprisoning them inside that pathetically fragile body. Aren't I right?"

"I…uh…" Gurabe was at a loss of words. His hands came up, pressing against his chest. He was right.

"You could understand what I'm going for." Finally, for the first time, Freyr removed his eyes from the crystal as the earthquake began to subside slightly. Tilting his head, he looked back over his shoulder at the silver haired zombie. "You suffer every day. Housing all the pain that comes with the crystals power takes a toll upon you, doesn't it?"

"What would you know!?" Joe cried out, snapping his arm across his body. "You don't know the first thing about any of us!"

"The rest of you, no." Freyr's head slowly turned forward again, his eyes looking down towards the base of the crystal. "Just that you have the powers of the crystals flowing through your own bodies due to exposure. Past that, I know nothing of your human lives."

Shifting his head back, all three of his eyes focused on the spiraling chunks of crystals. They were growing closer and closer to the surface.

"But the zombie, and the dual soul I understand and sympathize with."

"I don't need your sympathy!" Kiro growled, taking a mighty jerk upwards and shattering the invisible shield that was encasing them. Standing up, he glared at the scared back of the red demon.

"You're strong." Freyr chuckled a bit, his back still to the green haired demon. His red eyes narrowing a bit as he spoke. "Maybe stronger than me in the long run. But I will always…and I repeat…always will be superior to you. Because I'm doing something. I am accomplishing a goal. I am the one with the balls to seek revenge."

"Seek revenge on what?" Reku stepped forward, questioning the demon. "What do you need to seek revenge for?"

* * *

Standing on the front steps of a large stone palace, a human dressed in deep, sapphire blue armor stood staring up at the dark sky that was above him. Upon his left arm he wore an emerald green duel disk with a stack of brown cards inside of it. 

Though they were less intense, he could still feel the tremors racing through the earth beneath his armored feet.

"Sir Ronin." The small, green skinned Goblin King addressed Ronin, moving up beside him. "I think the time has come."

"It has." Ronin nodded, slowly lifting his left arm and looking down at the duel disk strapped to it. Placing his fingers on the top card of his deck, he yanked it off, flipping it over to show a crystal card. The Ruby Crystal card. "I have a duty to protect this place. Do not worry, I will not fail."

"I've seen your skills. I trust you." The Goblin King smirked, motioning behind Ronin. A bunch of monster spirits stood, all watching Ronin with increased interest. "We all are hoping that you will not let anything attack us. This war over that crystal is ruining all of our lives!"

"It's ruined my life as well." Ronin slid the next card off of his duel disk before replacing the Ruby Crystal on top of it. Flicking the card over, Ronin's duel disk hummed to life, snapping the duel tray into place. With a mighty jerk of his arm, he placed the card down upon it. "Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon arise!"

Rays of light came bursting off of the card, spiraling up into the air. Converging in a large ball, the lights faded away leaving a large, ice carved dragon hovering high over head. Snapping its long neck back, the behemoth roared loudly, showing those below in a faint mist of ice particles.

Slowly drifting downwards, the large ice dragon landed in the large, stone covered sidewalk just before Ronin.

Armor clanking, Ronin slowly moved forward, grabbing onto the side of his beast and hoisting himself up. Swinging his leg over, Ronin was now seated on the back of the large beast.

"I go." He declared, his large dragon ascending high into the air.

"Do your best." The Goblin King spoke, mainly to the monsters around him, as the dragon rose high above the village out of earshot.

* * *

"I need to seek revenge on," Freyr's hands opened up as he spoke, his long red fingers uncurling out, but his arms remained raised high above his head, pointing to the large crystal with the ring of smaller crystals around it. "Those who were greedy enough to make me this way. The ones who inflict so much pain upon me for their own personal gain. It's time they know what it's like. But…" 

An awkward silence fell across the room as Freyr took a deep breath. Slowly turning, the red skinned demon faced the small group of people, demons and zombie. His eyes seemed determined, yet filled with sorrow and twinges of rage.

"They are all dead. Have been for thousands of years." He continued to speak, his voice deep and meaningful. "And their descendants wouldn't have any clue as to why I'd kill them. I want to kill them, to get my revenge that way. But why punish people for something they didn't personally do? Since they would have no knowledge of what they are being punished for, it'd be an empty victory. That is why I haven't tried to kill you, Kiro. Not bluntly anyways."

"Thanks…I think." Kiro cracked his knuckles as he spoke. "Then what _are_ you trying to do?"

"I will let people kill themselves off, slowly, like they've been doing to me." Freyr smiled a bit, the sadness in his eyes vanishing in a flash of twisted glee. "I will fulfill one of my goals. My goal to let the pathetic human race suffer for what they do every day. Those they hurt in their conquest for power will have that energy reflected back upon them hundreds of thousands of times. They will be driven mad before they are killed off."

"That's horrible!" Akina screamed out. Hers, as well as everyone else eyes were wide as she heard this.

"What…" Joe began, taking a second to swallow hard. "…is your other goal exactly."

"With that done, my other goal is…"

The waiting between each of his words made time seem to slow down. They could hear the sweat popping up on the surface of each others skin. They could hear the incredibly loud echoing of everyone's (sans Gurabe's) pounding heart.

Snapping around, Freyr faced the large crystal, slamming his hands shut as he did. Eyes wide, psychotically staring up at the giant gem.

Racing inwards, the small ring of stones collided with the outside of the crystal. Raw, white energy was unleashed in a tremendous outburst. The ground began to shake, sending cracks spider webbing across the floors and walls.

"MY OTHER GOAL IS TO DIE!"

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Master Monk**  
1900/1000/6/Earth/Rock  
This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by Tributing 1 "Monk Fighter". This card can attack twice during the same turn.

Joe: "Master Monk is a powerful card in the right kind of deck. He is restricted on his summoning by needing a sacafice of a Monk Fighter on your field. But past that, he is only but positive effects! He can attack twice in any turn, which can be extreamly helpful in dealing out damage to the opponent. But even though I dealt with this threat, what the hell is going to happen here with Freyr!"

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	46. Razor's Edge

Episode 46: Razor's Edge

The waves of heated, rough energy that went shooting through the air illuminated the room in snow white blindness. Smashing into the walls, the energy proceeded to help the large golden barriers to crack like glass, sending light blue electrical jolts racing through each crevice at incredibly fast speeds.

The ground beneath the gang's feet was shaking causing all but the three demons to fall down.

But, even with the immense noise that this ruckus was causing, over all of it, Freyr's insane laugher could still be heard.

Standing before the large crystal, his arms stretched to their fullest; aimed at the large body of the crystal, Freyr watched the surface of the gem stone turn into a pure white glow before fading, showing what appeared to be gray colored lava flowing inside the boundary of the crystal. The flow was at an increased pace compared to usual, racing around the gem like a large, trapped snake.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Joe shouted out, still lost in the blinding light of the room.

No response. No one could answer him cause no one knew what to tell him.

* * *

Kooru's head snapped around, his stone colored eyes focusing onto the direction the castle was from his point. He felt the massive surge of energy racing through the ground before the earth below him actually began to shake. 

His ears than caught a swooshing sound from high above. Cranking his head back he watched as a large, blue, ice carved dragon went racing overhead, aiming in the direction of the castle.

Where the dragon's flight path was, a light show of soft snow came raining down over Kooru. The cool touch of the snow flakes make Kooru look down once again.

"Freyr is starting something big at the castle. I knew it! He took those damn crystals with him!" Swinging the sword to his side, Kooru took off running at his inhuman pace towards the castle, hopping to get there before anything went terribly wrong.

* * *

High above, Ronin's eyes were locked on the golden castle in the distance. He could see a massive amount of visible energy waves blasting through the golden walls, racing high into the night sky. 

Shifting his weight, Ronin leaned forward against the smooth back of the Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon. Even thought the beast was made of solid ice, Ronin couldn't feel the coldness of the beast. Even if he could, he wouldn't have cared. His mind was far too focused on the task at hand. That and the sapphire colored armor he was now sporting was relatively warm against his body.

"_All of this…"_

Narrowing his brow, Ronin's thoughts flooded into his veins, causing his blood to pump.

"_Ever since this whole thing started five years ago, it's done nothing but ruin my life. It made me see how weak and insignificant I am. It caused me so much emotional strain."_ Clenching his fists, he dug his feet into the side of the dragon, making it fly faster through the air. _"These monsters are counting on me. I understand them better than I've understood anyone else. The war of this crystal has ruined all of their lives as well, and it's just going to continue to do so. Unless…"_

The dragon turned slightly in the air, descending down until it was closer to ground level. It raced at incredible speeds over the tops of the many hills dotting the land below as it made its final approach towards the castle.

"…I stop Freyr first!"

* * *

Pulling themselves to their feet as the large tremor stopped, the gang looked on as Freyr rotated slowly around, looking at the entire group with wide, enthusiastic eyes. 

"My goals will be fulfilled!" Freyr's words were completely wrapped up in electric excitement.

"But why in the hell would you want to die?" Kiro questioned the mad demon, getting his full attention directed at him. _"What the hell…"_ Kiro felt an abnormal about of pressure suddenly fall upon him, coming directly from Freyr's three, blood red eyes.

"Yeah, isn't that helping us more?" Kevin made the terrible mistake of asking a question, drawing Freyr's attention towards him at demonic speeds. Wrapping his arms around his body, Kevin slowly sank to his knees, frozen inside.

"Insolent human fools. You really think I am happy? The longer I've been alive, the more pain my body goes through. I suffer so much each day because of the demonic soul killing me slowly inside. But," holding up his hand, Freyr curled his fingers into a tight fisted ball, "that same demonic soul makes it so that I can recover from my injuries at increased speeds. So while I'm burning away, I'm healing myself."

Shifting his gaze off of the kneeling human, his eyes focused back upon Kiro.

"Once you've lived for a while, Kiro, you'll begin to feel the same thing. The demonic soul inside of you will begin to eat away at you, but it'll also be the thing making you live."

"But I'm nothing like you!" Kiro retorted, slashing his arm through the air.

"Aren't you?" Freyr began to chuckle, closing his eyes as he did. "Seems your demon buddies failed to mention to you all as to what I am." Slowly peeling open, Freyr stared at Kiro, who had shifted his head towards Heruru and Hebanu, who looked incredibly shocked that Freyr would even bring it up. "Believe it or not, I wasn't lying to you when I said we had many things in common. One of which being that we were both human. Infused and infected with demonic energy, blood, and souls."

"That's…impossible…" Kiro's eyes, scanning over Heruru and Hebanu, moved slowly back to Freyr.

"I don't see how it could be impossible." Freyr whipped his arm back, pointing to the large crystal behind him. "All because of the war over this crystal! I became the butt of a bad experiment, ruining my life!"

"Then we share something after all." A voice came echoing into the room, causing the gang to spin around, staring at the doorway behind them. There, in his sapphire colored armor, Ronin stood tall and proud with his emerald green duel disk still activated on his arm. "That crystal seems to ruin a lot of people's lives."

"Ronin!" Reku called out, looking at his old friend. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to stop Freyr. So I'd suggest getting out of my way." Walking forward, he pushed his way through the group of humans, standing before them facing Freyr. "So what do you say you pompous asshole?" Holding up his duel disk level with his chest, he smirked with a devilish look in his eye. "Care for a rematch?"

"Rematch?" Joe looked over at the group he was at, speaking slightly under his breath. "He's faced Freyr before?"

Shrugging, most of the group went back to watching the scene unfold before them.

"Why would I duel you again?" Freyr questioned, holding up his right hand. In it, a large ball of blue flames appeared before dying down; revealing a large, stone carved medallion and a Duel Monsters card. "Last time I completely walked all over you and scored these lovely trinkets." The care he flipped over revealing it to be the Sapphire Crystal card.

"Because last time I wasn't fighting you at my fullest." Ronin held up his right arm, revealing his deck of cards. Sliding it into his duel disk he pulled off the top card and flipped it over so that he could see its face. "And this time, I've got more at stake. Trust me; nothing will be the same as it was the last time."

Whipping his arm back, he launched the card he was holding over his shoulder. As it floated through the air, Reku reached up, grabbing it out of the air.

"My Ruby Crystal?" He spoke, surprised to see it again.

"Yes, yours." Ronin responded without even turning to face him. "I took it from you only as proof of me defeating you. I don't need it, and I have never planned on using it anyways." Taking a deep breath, he spoke loudly, his words bolded with confidence. "I will win regardless!"

"You've got a lot of ambition." Freyr smirked, waving his hand with the medallion and the crystal card slowly back and forth in front of his body. "But you are wasting all of the energy running into a battle that you can't win."

"Not only will I win, but when I do, your reign will come to an end." Holding up his duel disk again level with his chest, he slowly reached out, placing his fingers upon the top card of his deck. "I'm stopping you here!"

"Your confidence is well noted darling but…" Dementia began to speak but was interrupted by a large roar from Freyr. Snapping his hand around, the slammed the medallion and the card against the side of the large crystal, causing them to be absorbed instantly into its body.

"The need for your involvement in this conversation is non-existent." Freyr withdrew his now empty hand, spinning around again. But by the time he was facing Ronin again, a large, white orb had appeared in his clutches. "Alright, I accept your foolish venture, knowing that when you lose, you also have come to the end of your rope as I gain what I want. My own true condition for this ancient game is that; you have not lied to me. Things had better be a little more interesting than our last game."

"They shall be." Ronin reassured the demon, sliding the top five cards from his deck and fanning them out in his hand before flipping them over to see their faces.

"Wait!" Reku cried out, lifting his left hand high above his head. The emerald green duel disk hummed to life, snapping into duel position before Reku lowered it to chest level. "Let me in on this. We'll take him together, Ronin."

"Not a chance." Ronin looked back over his shoulder, shooting Reku a nasty glare. "You keep out of this."

"We are stronger together though Ronin! You know that!" Akina threw herself into the argument, getting the same hateful look from Ronin as her boyfriend did.

"I'm doing this on my own, end of discussion." Turning his head back, he spread his legs wide, ready to brace himself. "Alright Freyr, this ends here! Let's duel!"

"You should have taken their assistance." Freyr waved the large orb off to his side, smirking darkly as he did. "The fact that you believe you are this much better than our last encounter is funny enough, but the fact that you are turning down help, when you are going to need all you can get, is hilarious!"

The orb began to shimmer a bit, spitting out five smaller spheres that raced around Freyr's body, gathering finally in his left hand. The balls of light began to mutate, forming Freyr's opening hand of cards once they took said form.

"But just to see how much you believe this will be different, I'll give you the first obstacle you must come up against." Freyr spoke after examining the opening hand he had. Waving his hand over by the orb, a sixth ball of light came bursting out, taking the form of a duel monsters card and adding itself to Freyr's hand.

Ronin-4000 LP  
Freyr-4000 LP

"I'll start small for you, just to see how much you struggle with this one." Freyr smirked as he pulled one of the cards out of his hand, thrusting it forward. The card spiraled through the air before reverting to its form of light and splashing down onto the cracked tiled floor below. The light began to spiral, forming a vortex in a thin plate hovering just above the ground. "I start with just a hidden monster on my field, ending my move."

"That's all? That is pathetic!" Ronin chuckled, drawing his own sixth card and adding it to his hand. _"Except, nothing about this duel is going to be easy. I know that for a dead fact…"_

Images of Ronin's last duel with Freyr flicked through his mind as he looked up at his opponent as he slid one of the cards out of his hand. Smacking the side of his duel disk the side tray opened up and the card was instantly inserted into the slot.

"I start with my A Legendary Ocean!" Ronin cried out, a massive wave of water came blasting up from behind him along with a large, stone tower building.

Crashing down onto the field, the water instantly began to spread out, creating a small lake in the square room, covering the entire floor with a thin layer of water.

"This card will increase the attack and defense of all water monsters by 200 points. But it also will reduce the level of all water monsters in our hands and fields by one whole level." Whipping another card from his clutches, Ronin slashed it through the air before landing it in an open zone on his duel disk. "Making my level five Terrorking Salmon a level four monster, capable of being summoned without a tribute!"

From the thin layer of water; an enormous, bony brown scaled fish monster came rushing high into the air above Ronin. The beast let out an inhuman roar as it flailed about a bit in mid air. (2400/1000) The monster then made its decent, falling back into the thin layer of water and disappearing as if the water was much deeper than it was. (2600/1200)

"Quick-play magic card go!" Ronin cried out, not wasting any time at all pulling the card from his hand and sliding it into his duel disk. "Quick Summon will allow me to normal summon one more time on my turn. I'll use this normal summoning to summon out my Crystal Ice Shield, defense mode!"

What rose out of the water this time was a large, snow flake shaped shield. It was carved completely out of ice, dripping water off of its limbs to the rippling water below it. (0/1800) (200/2000)

"As I'm sure you remember, my Crystal Ice Shield can't be attacked if I have another monster on my field." Ronin lowered his hand, which held two cards, to his side as he explained his new monster. "But in the event that you wish to destroy a water type monster, my shield can protect it. Being water itself, it'll gain all the power my field magic card has to offer."

"_Nice opening play."_ Reku watched silently from behind Ronin with the rest of the group. _"It is definitely a strong start. I fear Ronin will need it if he hopes to stand any chance against this demon."_

"Terrorking Salmon attack! Destroy his set monster!" Ronin thrust his arm forward making the sapphire colored armor he was wearing clank a bit with the sudden movement.

Erupting from the water's surface again, the large fish monster dived in an arch, landing on top of the spiraling vortex of light, biting down on it and causing it to shatter. From the pool of light, a small red crown, a golden bow, a pair of pale wings and some feet not attached to anything came shooting out before shattering into a stream of white particles.

"My set monster was Skelengel (900/400). When this monster is flipped, it allows me to draw one more card from my deck." The sphere of light shot out another smaller ball, causing it to mutate into the form of a Duel Monsters card by the time it was in Freyr's grasp. "You managed the first obstacle well but this is nothing more than the beginning of what I have in store for you."

"Your free card won't help you." Ronin smirked, pleased with his position still. "It's your turn."

Shooting from the orb; Freyr's next card mutated and appeared in the air as a brown backed card towards Ronin. Grabbing it, Freyr moved it back to his hand, giving him seven cards.

"Magic card," Freyr began; pulling out one of the cards he held and tossed it up into the air. This time though, instead of turning into a burst of light, this card vanished, creating streams of pitch-black mist, spiraling down over the field. "Infection of Terror"

"What?" Ronin watched wide eyed as the stream of black mist spiraled down, seeping into the water below. Splashing out of the water, the large Terrorking Salmon appeared, its color ghastly gray and white. Sickly moans came from the monster as it flailed about on the surface. (1400/1200)

"This equipment card will infest one monster with fear, dropping its attack power by an amount equal to its defense. It also immobilizes your monster, making it unable to move its battle position or attack."

As he spoke, Freyr was sliding another card out of his hand; tossing it high up into the air and watching it erupt into a burst of light.

"And now, come on out; Rejection of Joy (300/2100), attack mode!"

A large, gray wall appeared before Freyr. It had a large, anguish filled face pressing against the center of the wall, sticking out as if the face was behind the skin of the monster. Lining the edge of the monster, large spike protruded from the skin, sticking out as a good form of protection.

"Attack!" Freyr's palm was sent forward, thrusting it towards the large fish. "Fill that monster with the power of hopelessness and sorrow!"

"What?" Ronin watched in confusion as the large wall came flying forward, crashing instantly into the large, sickly looking fish monster. "That was the stupidest move I've ever seen done!"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? Your brain can't comprehend what has just transpired." Freyr's arm was pulled back, placing the heel of his hand against his sharp chin. "When Rejection of Joy attacks a monster, its attack and defense scores are instantly switched, giving my monster enough power to deal with your beast!"

The large wall began to glow in a dark purple aura, letting lose a disturbing moan as its power was increased. (2100/300)

Shattering, the wall disappeared from the field in a large explosion, shoving the ill fish back, splashing into the water.

"The effect of my Crystal Ice Shield activates! I'll sacrifice it in order to prevent the destruction of my Terrorking Salmon." Ronin explained, the ice weapon melting away, adding frosty water to the lake they were standing in.

Ronin-3300 LP  
Freyr-4000 LP

"And the effect of my Rejection of Joy destroys it if a monster on your side of the field is destroyed in the turn it activates its effect." Freyr didn't seem fazed by his loss. Instead, he just reached down, grabbing two of the cards he held and tossing them out before him. "I'll set these cards, finishing my turn off!"

Pools of light formed on the floor of water just in front of Freyr's legs.

"Draw!" Ronin snapped the top card from his deck, flicking it over to see its face. "Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness (1800/1500), attack mode!" He slapped the said card from his hand onto his duel disk next to his Terrorking Salmon card.

The blue and purple armored fish-warrior came blasting out of the water, spinning its large lance around its body in a professional matter. Floating down, its feet landed on the water's surface, giving the monster a floor to stand on. The power of the water flooded up through the monsters veins, giving the monster a light aura. (2000/1700)

"Ready for this attack? The damage from this one you'll definitely feel!" Ronin whipped his arm forward pointing to Freyr with his armored hand. "Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness attack him directly now! Darkness Water Lance!"

Blasting forward with a mighty battle cry, the monster wielded the lance back around its body, ready to strike its opponent once it came within striking distance.

"Falling for such an obvious trap." Freyr shook his head as one of the pools of light began to become active, shooting up into a pillar of bright light.

"_No, I figured it was a trap. I need to find out what kind of trap I am dealing with though."_ Ronin chuckled to himself waiting to see what the end result of the ritual was going to be. _"Once I know, I can re-plan a tactic. You're the one falling into my trap Freyr."_

But Ronin's thoughts were cut off as his sickly fish monster vanished from just before his face. Eyes growing wide, he watched as the gray and white fish monster appeared from the tower of light that had erupted on Freyr's field. The monster didn't last very long though as it was thrown right into the war path of the charging warrior, having the lance drove deep into the chest cavity of the fish.

"Chaos Barrier Field gives me control of the monster on your side of the field with the lowest attack points, allowing me to use it as a wall to stop the attack of your strongest monster." Freyr laughed as he explained the situation, watching the fish monster die in a fiery death, exploding from the force of the battle. "Being your monster though…"

"I'm still taking the damage…" Ronin realized as his duel disk began to beep.

Ronin-2700 LP  
Freyr-4000 LP

"It's worse than that." Freyr motioned to the spot on the field where the fish once stood, and the warrior monster stood frozen in its battle pose. In the area of the monster, long stream so black mist spiraled around, identical to the ones that had infected Ronin's monster before. "When the monster Infection of Terror is equipped to is destroyed, the owner of said monster, which is you, will take 700 points of damage to your life points."

Collecting into a large ball, the black energy shot like a bullet across the room, smashing into Ronin's chest and sending him flying backwards into the water.

Ronin-2000 LP  
Freyr-4000 LP

A large splash was accompanied by a cracking sound, as the breast plate of the armor Ronin was wearing had been damage. Spider web cracks shot out from the center, racing across the front of him.

"What happened to; 'this time it'll be different'?" Freyr questioned, watching Ronin's monster make its way back to its owner's side of the field. "I'm having even less fun torturing you this time that I did last time."

"I'm not out of this yet…" Ronin growled, pulling himself back to his feet. Rubbing his right hand over his damaged armor, he growled a bit. "But it is your turn."

"Then I draw." Freyr awaited the arrival of the next orb of energy. Once it formed into a card, his three eyes widened with glee. Licking his lips with his pointed tongue, he looked up at Ronin. "Maybe I still could have some fun torturing you yet."

"Bring it on." Ronin braced himself, preparing for anything.

"I activate," Freyr pulled one of the cards from his hand, throwing it above his head, "Drink of the Forgetting Waters!"

"That card?" Ronin watched as the card shattered, raining down white raindrops upon Freyr's head.

"This card prevents me from activating any other normal magic cards this turn. It also makes me take one of the cards in my hand and place it face-down on top of my deck." Reverting to a beam of light, one of the cards Freyr was holding raced back around, landing on top of the orb that was acting as Freyr's deck.

"_Last time, he used that card to rig the draw he was going to get from the effect of Norleras. But it is far to early to summon that monster,"_ doing a bit of calculation, Ronin studied Freyr's field intently. _"In fact, there is no way he can summon that monster now. He has to have a different plan!"_

"I activate the set card on my field. Quick-play magic card; Amber Tear Water River! This card lets me call out one type of card. I then draw the top card of my deck, and if it's not the same type as what I called, it goes to the grave. But…if it's the same type as the one I called, I get to place the card in my hand and destroy one monster on the opponent's side of the field."

"Not good…" Ronin watched as Freyr's strategy became painfully obvious.

"I call magic card." Freyr smirked, motioning to the small orb sitting on top of the larger orb. "Not just that, the continuous magic card; Bank of the Wailing River!"

With it said, the orb formed back into a rectangular shaped card with its face towards Ronin. That way, he could see that it was indeed a magic card with the said name printed in large white letters across the top of it.

Pulling the card off of the orb, Freyr palmed it for a second to point towards the purple and blue armored fish-warrior. "And now that monster goes boom!"

Exploding from the inside, Ronin had to shield himself from the sparks that came raining down over him.

Continuing without waiting for the smoke to clear, Freyr slid another card from his hand, tossing it high above his head where it erupted into a pillar of light, forming a large gray armored beast. It circular head was long with a huge, curved blade racing off of the back of it. Tightly gripped in its right hand, the hilt of a long, flat, gray sword rested, the tip of the weapon making small ripples in the water as it just barely went below the surface. (1900/1400)

"I call forth my Abandonment of Hope! A monster that will lead me closer to winning this duel!" Freyr announced, thrusting his right hand forward again. "Attack him directly!"

With a swing of his mighty sword, the beast launched a massive ray of black and yellow demonic energy flying over the surface of the water. Waves went splashing off to the side as it flew, spiraling out of control towards Ronin.

With a loud thump, the attack collided into the already broken armor, causing more cracks to appear upon the surface of it as the man inside went flying back yet again, splashing into the water that covered the field.

Ronin-100 LP  
Freyr-4000 LP

"Now," Freyr flipped up the card he still had cupped in his palm, showing it once again to the audience behind the grounded Ronin, "I can activate the continuous magic card; Bank of the Wailing River!"

The stretch of room that was between Freyr and Ronin began to shimmer, the water vanishing form that spot and all the way off to a wall. Dark gray sand seemed to appear, elevating Freyr and the still flattened Ronin up slightly. It looked like they were standing on some sort of ghastly beach.

"This is the end of my turn." Freyr chuckled as the card he was holding began to glow, showing the beach with its light before fading out of Freyr's grip.

"Wait…" Ronin growled as he once again pulled himself to his feet. Glaring over at the demon on the other end of the sand bank, his eyes filled with anger. "What does this card do?"

"Nothing," Freyr's twisted smile made Ronin's blood pressure skyrocket. "Nothing at least until your Standby Phase."

"Fine…" Ronin drew the top card of his deck, sliding it into his hand. "Well, tell me what the card does now."

"It's simple. Each turn, the turn player has a choice to make. You can either pay 500 of your life points to this card." The thought of that made Ronin realize just how low his score was at the moment.

"Or…" He bade Freyr to continue.

"You could always discard one of the cards in your hand instead." Freyr watched as Ronin's head looked down, scanning over the three cards he was now holding.

"_The timing of this play was perfect! My resources are already low from my opening play, and his assault has left my life point far to low to pay that 500 cost."_ Taking a second to consider his options, Ronin pulled out the one at the end, sliding it into his graveyard slot before looking back up at the demonic beast. _"But I can't lose. I will fight back from this!"_ Ronin's determination was noted as he yanked out one of his two remaining cards, slapping it down horizontally on his duel disk. "Ice Covered Wall, defense mode!"

Shooting up through the sand and water, a large crystal wall made entirely out of ice appeared, towering over everyone in the room. Stretching from one end of the room to the other, the new monster was a massive fortress, capable of keeping Ronin safe for a bit. (100/2600) (300/2800)

"When my Ice Covered Wall is attacked though, it loses 600 defense points." Ronin explained, letting his arms drop to his side. "But with 2800 points of defense, you'll have to do some damage to yourself to even begin to weaken this roadblock of ice! I am done with my turn."

"Your confidence is misplaced," Freyr scoffed as he waved his arm towards his floating deck, catching the comet that shot out tightly in his clutches. "Your wall isn't as strong or well fortified as you make it out to be."

The ghastly beach the two of them stood on began to glow, Freyr's card activating right as he was in the middle of his speech. Chuckling, Freyr closed his eyes before responding to the field.

"Bank of the Wailing River does apply to me as well, but unlike you, I'll keep the card I obtained. Five hundred life points is a null cost to me."

Ronin-100 LP  
Freyr-3500 LP

"Besides, this card is like a gift from the heavens, so I'd like to use it." Freyr flipped the card over; he revealed a green bordered card, the image glowing brightly. "Graceful Charity allows me to draw thrice more, but two of the cards I am holding are then discarded to the grave."

Three more 'cards' shoot out of Freyr's sphere, spiraling around through the air before colliding with Freyr's left hand, forming the additional three Duel Monsters cards that he was to have. Looking over them, he quickly pulled out two and flipped them over. Their card titles read; Mask of Darkness (900/400), and Trap Hole, both of them vanishing in a blink of an eye with a massive pillar of flames.

"Gone, but not forgotten." Freyr chuckled, taking out one of the other cards he had drawn and tossing it out before him, watching it spiral into a larger pool of while light, landing just over the water's surface behind his sword wielding monster. "I set this card. And finish my turn."

"Draw!" Ronin snapped the top card from his deck, whipping it out to his side, holding it into place there while he thought. _"I have to discard something. I won't lose this duel because he burned me to deat_h." Pulling the card back, his eyes grew wide when he saw what he had in his clutches.

Pulling out the card he held in his hand, Ronin promptly slid the card into his graveyard slot before moving the card he had drawn and sliding it into his duel disk behind his defending monster card.

"I set this face-down to end my turn." Ronin's poker face-was good, his will wouldn't let it show that he was scared at the moment. _"This is a risky move. Since I'm holding no cards, next turn his stupid magic card is going to make me discard whatever I draw. That is to say, if this doesn't work."_

"It's my move." Freyr announced, his next card appearing in his hand from the large orb that rested next to him. As it did, Freyr's body began to gain a slight, gray aura, racing up from the sand under his feet.

Ronin-100 LP  
Freyr-3000 LP

"It's time to end this." Freyr grasped the card tightly, slicing it through the air before releasing it and watching it spiral high into the air. "Rise up; Loss of Faith!" (1800/1500)

Forming a beam of light, the card shot down to a spot on the beach next to the Abandonment of Hope monster, forming another gray armored beast. Hiding its face behind thick bars that raced down the head of the monster, the monster could be heard growling deeply. Smoke came rolling from the holes, falling heavily down the pear shaped body of the beast and over the large lance the monster held with razor sharp points at the end of them.

"The effect of my Loss of Faith is triggered." Freyr explained, holding out his right hand so that it was just in front of the orb he had floating next to him. "By sending a monster of the same attribute as my Loss of Faith from my deck to my grave, I can increase its attack power by 700. Being a Light monster,"

Freyr flipped his hand over as he spoke, revealing his Shining Abyss (1600/1800) monster card for a second before it erupted in blue flames.

"This card works for it!" Freyr withdrew his hand, watching his newest monster roar with power. (2500/1500) "Attack!" He ordered, whipping his hand forward towards the large ice wall.

From the pool of light at Freyr's feet, a large, red burst of energy came racing out, smashing into the Loss of Faith monster, giving it a blood colored aura racing around it. Taking off running with its battle cry, the monster appeared to be a comet; flying through the air with sparks flying off of its trail. (3200/1500)

"My hidden trap becomes active!" Freyr exclaimed, watching Ronin's horrified face. "Strike Shot gives my monster an additional 700 attack points when it declares an attack. But that isn't the worst of your troubles!" Snapping his arm forward, he pointed to his charging monster. "The difference in my attack to your defense points are now deducted from your life points!"

"Damn…" Ronin watched as the charging monster rammed into the ice wall before him, sending a large burst of white light shooting everywhere, blinding everyone for a couple of seconds.

When the light dimmed though, everyone could see there was something wrong. The Loss of Faith monster was just a hair away from the wall, being stopped by a large, clear barrier that seemed to have sprung up out of nowhere. Electrical surges went racing through the sudden barricade, reaching the end and showering off into white particles over Ronin's head.

"What in the hell…" Freyr studied the situation for a second before he realize that Ronin's set card was upright, glowing slightly.

"I actually was hoping you'd try a big assault against my wall monster, perfect for activating this card." Ronin motioned to the said card before it vanished into the air. "Draining Shield not only stops your attack, but I'm going to gain life point's equal to your monsters attack points."

Ronin-3300 LP  
Freyr-3000 LP

"Looks like I got the drop on you this time." Ronin smiled wide as his opponent's monster returned disappointedly to Freyr's field.

"It was nothing more than luck. It's just a matter of time before you're life points are low again." Freyr assured Ronin before taking the last card he held and tossing it forward. "I'm setting this card face-down on my field, ending my turn."

The Loss of Faith monster began to glow again, this time to reduce its power. (1800/1500)

"Since no monster on your side of the field was destroyed in the turn I activated my Loss of Faith's effect, it shall remain on the field."

Leaning against the wall by the doorway into the room, Kooru was silent, watching the duel with increased interest. The sword he held still was tightly in his grasp, but being held down at his side.

"_Freyr is much tougher than this human is giving him credit for."_ Kooru pondered to himself, waiting to see the outcome of this game. _"This ancient game is more worthwhile than any other I fear though. It could be the key to stopping Freyr and his plans, but playing like he has been, Freyr is going to continue to walk all over him."_ His eyes narrowed, partially in anger at Ronin. _"Use your head."_

Reku placed his right hand against his chin, nodding a bit. _"Got to admit, Ronin did pull off a good save there. Had Freyr not attacked though, Ronin wouldn't have had any draw at all, losing whatever it would have been to the magic card on Freyr's field."_

"Neither of them have any cards on hand, and it is Ronin's turn." Joe spoke, observing the field. "And with his 2800 defender, he's set for a little bit I think."

"Freyr is tough." Gurabe disagreed. "In a few short moves, without even breaking a sweat, Ronin was taken from 4000 life to 100 and shifted onto the defensive. It's obvious who's in control of this duel."

"But he can fight back, can't he?" Akina looked up at Reku, who had refused to remove his eyes from the duel before him.

"You know Ronin as well as I do. He won't give up without some sort of fight. It all just depends on what he draws here as to what kind of 'fight' we are talking about."

Ronin, also keeping his eyes forward, growled a bit in his throat, overhearing the conversation going on behind him. _"As annoying as they all are, they do have a point. Even though I've taken a sudden lead in Life Points, this duel is still in his favor."_

Looking down, he held up his duel disk and placed his hand on the top card. Narrowing his eyes, he smirked a bit.

"_Guess I'm just going to have to change that."_

With a mighty pull, Ronin freed the top card of his deck, slashing it out to the side.

"DRAW!"

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Ice Covered Wall**  
100/2600/4/Water/Aqua  
Every time this card is attacked, lower this cards defense points by 600. The decrease remains in effect as long as this card is face-up on the field.

Ronin: "A big defender, the Ice Covered Wall does what it's meant to do. Acting as a wall, it can keep the enemies away from your life points for a little bit, but just like all ice, if you hit it repeated times, it will crack and become weak. Ice Covered Wall loses 600 defense points each time its hit by an enemy attack."

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	47. Unmatchable Determination

Episode 47: Unmatchable Determination

"_Even though I've taken a sudden lead in Life Points, this duel is still in his favor."_

Looking down, Ronin held up his duel disk and placed his hand on the top card. Narrowing his eyes, he smirked a bit.

"_Guess I'm just going to have to change that."_

With a mighty pull, he freed the top card of his deck, slashing it out to the side.

"DRAW!"

From behind the two growling, gray armored monsters on Freyr's side of the field, the red skinned demon began laughing hysterically. His mighty head thrown back as the laughter escaped his lips.

"Your enthusiasm is well noted, but you know you can't turn this duel around again." He began to speak, his head coming back down to look at the human he was dueling. "No mater what it is that you've drawn, you are still bound by the effect of my Bank of the Wailing Rivers magic card, remember? So will you be sending your drawn card to the graveyard, or losing the 500 life points?"

Frowning a bit, Ronin retracted his arm from his side, flipping the card over so that he could see its face. Looking up, he spoke sternly, seriously. "I'm paying the life points."

Ronin-2800 LP  
Freyr-3000 LP

Taking the card he had drawn, he flipped it around and slid it into his duel disk. A vortex of sparks shot up before him as the brown-backed card materialized on the field behind the large, ice wall that still stood as a barrier between Ronin and Freyr.

"I end my turn with setting this card."

"_Not good."_ Reku watched as his old friend passed his turn back to the demon. _"He didn't draw anything he could use to turn the tide in this turn. That's going to give a bit advantage to Freyr."_

Spouting from the large white orb that rested next to him, the next card shot around the large torso of the demon before landing in his right hand, taking the form of a Duel Monsters card.

"Draw." Freyr's voice was filled with confidence. His two human-placed eyes looking down at the card before his lips curled into a grin. "Perfect card. I'll save it for just a little bit." Dropping his left hand, he pointed to the beach below them where his magic card was still in effect. "I'll pay out the life point costs as well."

Ronin-2800 LP  
Freyr-2500 LP

His right hand found itself inches from the floating orb, pulling away only once he had a brown backed card tightly in his grips. Flipping it over, he smirked as he showed a normal monster card to Ronin and everyone else watching the duel. On it, a picture of a purple and black, ghost like beast was struggling to get away from glowing, golden chains binding its arms and waist.

"I activate the effect of my Loss of Faith once again, sending from my deck to my graveyard my Binding Chain (1000/1100) monster card."

The light attribute monster card began to glow, erupting into flames and vanishing from Freyr's clutches. As it did, the armored beast on his field began to moan again, power surging through its body. (2500/1500)

"Abandonment of Hope attack!" Freyr changed the subject from one of his monsters to the other, sending it springing high into the air. With a whip of its flat sword, the monster sent out a blast of black and yellow energy, coursing through the air and slamming into the side of the large ice barrier.

"Your monsters 1900 attack doesn't even come close to the 2800 defense points my wall has." Ronin, even though he knew what Freyr was planning to do, was still pleased that his opponent had only succeeded in damaging himself.

Ronin-2800 LP  
Freyr-1600 LP

"But look at that." Freyr's tone was mocking as he pointed to the large wall, now covered in large cracks.

"I know." Ronin admitted, holding up his duel disk so that he could look at the horizontal card he had sitting there. "My Ice Covered Wall loses 600 defense points when it is attacked." (300/2200)

"Perfect then for my Loss of Faith to destroy!" Freyr bellowed out. Just as his first monster landed on the gray sand below, his other monster went charging forward, slamming the pointed end of the spear into the center point where the cracks spread out from. Instantly, the wall, as well as the lance totting warrior, shattered into a million tiny data bits.

"Oh no!" Akina gasped from behind Ronin. "His defense is gone now."

"But due to their own effects," Joe began, interrupting Akina, "Freyr's Loss of Faith instantly killed itself because a monster on Ronin's field was destroyed in the turn it activated its effect."

"_Have these people really never watched a duel before?"_ Ronin sighed, exasperated with the commentary from the group behind him.

"I see your set card didn't hide any tricks." Freyr lifted the single card he was holding, tossing it forward. Instantly it formed a large, white vortex, landing right next to Freyr's other pool of light, indicating he now had two set cards on the field. "I will just set this, ending my turn."

His attention back on the duel, Ronin lifted his Duel Disk once again, yanking the top card from his deck. "I draw!" He called out, whipping the card to his side. _"I need something powerful to go on the offensive with!"_ Pulling it back, he saw he was holding a monster card indeed, one with ample attack strength. "Perfect." He smiled, palming the card for a second while he snapped his hand forward to point to the set card on his side of the field. "But before I can play this card, I will pay for the effect of your card, and then I need to activate my set magic card! Go; Silent Doom!"

Ronin-2300 LP  
Freyr-1600 LP

Flipping up, a green bordered card with the image of a large human hand reaching out to grasp a comet of yellow light appeared. Glowing brightly, the card shot out a beam of light to the space just before it, causing a purple and blue armored warrior to appear, crouching down over a yellow horizontally turned monster card.

"Silent Doom lets me special summon one normal monster from my grave to my field in defense mode, so I choose to bring back Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness (1800/1500)!" The revived monster moaned as the power of Ronin's field card gave it strength. (2000/1700)

"But Silent Doom prevents a monster from attacking." Freyr elaborated, pointing to the defending monster. "All 2000 of its attack points are useless to you. Meaning you have another plan."

"How right you are." Ronin took the card he had drawn and flipped it over, revealing a seven star monster to Freyr. "This monster is known as Blizzard Sorceress. Typically a two tribute monster, I've made it very easy to summon. You see, it's also a water monster, meaning that my A Legendary Ocean magic card makes it only six stars."

Vanishing from the field as quickly as he had reappeared, the Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness was soon replaced by a large beautiful, white skinned woman standing in dark blue robes. Her bare arms were covered in thin veins of ice that formed ice-cycles dangling downwards. Her long, frost blue hair ran down her scalp and flowed delicately over her shoulders. From her dress, a thick artic fog came rolling out, surrounding the monsters bare feet. (2500/1200)

The water that crashed into the beach that the monster was standing on over flowed a bit, dousing the woman's feet for a couple of seconds before withdrawing into the mini lake that Ronin's field card had made. The few seconds of being wet, the magic card had infused the woman with power. (2700/1400)

"Time for you to feel the power of ice!" Ronin jerked his arm forward to initiate his attack. "Go! Destroy his Abandonment of Hope! Frozen Magic Blast!"

Cupping her hands, the artic woman began to form a strange ball of energy, coursing with rotating ice chunks floating around a large, blue core. Thrusting her arms forward, the sorceress sent the attack jetting forward across the field.

As it crashed into the gray armored warrior a large blast of dark gray smoke went billowing out of the battle field. Ronin began smirking, waiting for the smoke to clear to see his monster being victorious.

Instead.

When the smoke cleared, everyone saw that what Ronin's attack had collided into wasn't the monster, but a thin barrier that was but a hairs length away from the breast plate of the beast.

"Fool." Freyr was smirking again, his twisted grin stretching up to reveal his top fangs. "Did you believe it would be that easy?"

"What?!" Ronin watched as the thin barrier began to surge with energy as it absorbed the attack.

"Doesn't this look familiar to you?" Freyr motioned to the barrier before him. "It's the same tactic you pulled on me a few turns ago." Pulling his arm back he showed one of his pools of light shimmering, creating strings that raced across the sand to the bottom of the barrier. "I triggered my trap card when you attacked. A deadly little trap known as Emulation Snare! I take one trap card from your graveyard and remove it from play, giving my Emulation Snare the exact same effect. I've chosen to take your Draining Shield card you used on me earlier. Though, this card will force me to discard one card during my next standby phase."

"_Since he's holding no cards, he just screwed his own draw!"_ Ronin snarled a bit as he watched his graveyard slot eject the said card. Picking it up, he looked over to see that the action was still in progress. A bit confused as to why it hadn't faded yet, he watched as Freyr pointed to his other pool of light.

"I activate my set quick-play magic card." Freyr began, the pool of light shooting out multiple beams of orange light. "Enhanced Enlightenment can only be activated in a case when an increase or decrease would be made to a monster or a players life points. That amount will become doubled!"

"This isn't possible." Ronin gasped, realizing what his opponent was doing.

The force of the attack raced through the barrier, coming to the edge and raining down white rain upon Freyr's head, causing his smile to turn into a twisted laugh.

"That's two increases of 2700 points!" He bellow out, his life points taking a huge leap up.

Ronin-2300 LP   
Freyr-7000 LP

"Enhanced Enlightenment has one more effect you probably are going to want to know about." Freyr spoke, catching Ronin's attention instantly.

"_There is more?!"_ He screamed in his head, watching as the barrier finally began to vanish from the field.

"I must skip my next Standby Phase."

"But…" Ronin's eyes narrowed, disgust filling his voice. "That'll get you out of both the effect of your Bank of the Wailing River as well as the discard you have to do for using Emulation Snare." The demon's nod made Ronin fill with anger. "Damn you… I end my turn."

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you're angry with me." Freyr held up his left hand, catching the next beam of light that came blasting out of the orb next to him. Mutating into a Duel Monsters card in his grips. Pulling it down, his face looked over the card with increasing interest. "The timing is too perfect. I activate the continuous magic card; Oath, Sworn by the Hateful River!"

Thrusting the card high into the air, it seemed to explode like a firecracker, raining down purple and blue sparks over Freyr's body, giving him a feint, dark blue aura.

"I can now swear an oath, declaring I will skip one of my own phases of my turn." Freyr announced, his smile widening as everyone across the room from him began to groan is disgust with the card. "I declare that I'll skip my Standby Phase for as long as this card remains face-up on the field."

"This isn't even remotely fair." Ronin protested, watching the aura finally dissipate from his opponent's body. "A card that just lets you skip one of your own phases? What else does it do?"

"Well, should I break my Oath, I have to put nine Binding Oath counters on this card. Removing them one at a time during your End Phase and dealing me 1000 points of damage. That shouldn't be a problem, as I don't have any reason to want to perform my Standby Phase at the moment anyways."

Crouching down, Freyr's gray armored monster held the sword across its body.

"I shift my Abandonment of Hope into defense mode before I finish my turn." Freyr announced aloud, his combo working out nicely.

"Draw." Ronin, with less enthusiasm now, slid the top card off of his deck, flipping it over to see its face. Looking up, he prepared to move the card to his duel disk. "I first will pay for your stupid magic card,"

Ronin-1800 LP   
Freyr-7000 LP

"And then I activate the magic card; Card of Sanctity! This allows us both to draw 6 new cards from our decks!"

Plucking six cards free from his duel disk, Ronin fanned them open to see what he had. Looking up, he watched Freyr collect six beams of light that were ejected from his slowly shrinking orb of light.

"_It was a risk I had to take. I know I gave him a fresh hand to work with, but I was running on nothing myself."_ Ronin felt bad he had to play his Card of Sanctity, but knew he didn't have a choice. Pulling out one of the card he slapped it down on his duel disk next to the Blizzard Sorceress that was sitting there. "I summon Snow Sprite (1100/700), in attack mode!"

A human-shaded blue female warrior sprite appeared on the field, sliding down through the frosty air and landing on the beach below. Lifting her head, she gazed out with two mischievous eyes from under her blue head dress, adorned with long, crystal like ice-cycles.

"While she is on the field, you can't play magic cards from your hand. And all set cards must wait a turn before being activated." Ronin explained the effect of his new monster, causing her to giggle like a little school girl. "Now, Blizzard Sorceress…"

Cupping her hands as her name was being called; the large woman formed a energy ball, surging with ice crystals again.

"Attack!" Thrusting her arms outward, the ball of ice went hurdling across the field, slamming into the gray colored knight and causing it to explode instantly. "Snow Sprite, attack him directly!" Ronin bellowed out, the young blue colored woman jumping high into the air above Ronin and thrusting her hand forward. From it; an artic mist went shooting out, engulfing Freyr for a couple of seconds.

Ronin-1800 LP   
Freyr-5900 LP

"_This is far too easy all of a sudden."_ Ronin realized, watching his ice-pixie fall back down to the field before him. Taking out one of the cards in his hand, he slid it into his duel disk. "I set this face-down to end my turn."

"I draw then." Freyr's orb spat out another beam of light. Collecting with the other six cards, the light form his new card, which his eyes rested on for a few seconds before moving to another card and pulling it out. "I remove from my graveyard; Abandonment of Hope, Loss of Faith, Rejection of Joy, and Mask of Darkness. Three Light, Fairy type monsters and one Dark, Fiend type. In order to call forth this,"

Chucking the card high into the air, it erupted into an orb of light, blasting a beam of energy down onto the field before Freyr. What came into shape was a snow white monster with long, fully feathered white wings. Leather straps ran around its upper arms, and gloves were dawned over its long, skinny fingers. Its legs were also covered by tight leather pants with many straps running around the legs. Long, white hair came racing out of a headband-like item wrapped around the monsters head, covering its eyes. The most distinctive feature of this monster was the large, rainbow colored vortex right in the middle of the monsters stomach.

"Sky Scourge Enrise (2400/1500)!"

"I won't let you!" Ronin bellowed out, slashing his arm across his body. "Set card open! Ice Slick!"

With a huge blast of light, the sand and water below the newly summoned beast's feet became a thick sheet of ice, glinting slightly. The monster seemed to loose its footing on the slick surface, falling down to its knees where a horizontally turned card appeared below it.

"This card works when you summon a monster in any form, changing it instantly into defense mode and preventing it from moving this turn." Ronin exclaimed, pulling the said trap card from his duel disk and sliding it into his graveyard slot.

"It doesn't matter." Freyr chuckled at the futile attempt by his opponent. "I still have you." Pointing to his now defense mode monster, Freyr began to activate the monsters effect. "This card can sacrifice its attack once per turn to remove one monster on the field from play! I am obviously choosing to remove," moving slightly, the demon pointed to the large, white skinned woman monster, "your Blizzard Sorceress!"

The vortex in the stomach of the best began to spin faster, sucking with all of its might to pull in the frozen witch. Lifting her off of the ground, she struggled the best she could, but failed as she vanished into the colorful-black hole.

"And now to see how strong you really are." Freyr's confident voice made Ronin's blood boil even more. Yanking out two more cards from his hand, Freyr tossed them high into the air where they erupted into beams of light, crashing down onto the field again. "I set one card face-down and summon Mad Reloader in defense mode. All of this to end my turn."

The monster that appeared as Freyr's normal summon of the turn was a human-shaped demon beast; purple in color. Adorning its small body was armor made of rough, blue material, running up the body and creating a mask over the monsters head where the eyes peered out. From the back of the monsters head, long yellow tubes came jutting out, connecting back into the monsters body. (0/0)

"Draw." Ronin pulled the top card off of his deck, adding it to his hand before his eyes fell upon it. "I pay for the effect of your magic card…"

Ronin-1300 LP   
Freyr-5900 LP

"_Ronin is in a very tough spot."_ Reku growled slightly, squeezing his hand into tight balled fists. Anger burned inside of him. An anger telling him that his first instinct was right and that he should be in this duel with Ronin. _"He has to do something. Anything!"_

"_It's all I've got!"_ Ronin yanked out a card from his hand, instantly sliding it into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card; Frozen Sun!"

Swallowing the ice-pixie whole, a large, glowing sun began to rise up from the spot on the field where the monster was once standing. Floating high overhead, the solar being was encased in an artic mist, slowly showering the world below it with a thin, frozen fog.

"Frozen Sun lets me sacrifice one monster on my side of the field in order to normal summon a level seven or higher monster with just that one tribute." As he explained his cards effect, Ronin was already busy at work pulling a card from his hand and gently placing it on an open slot on his duel tray.

Before everyone, the large sun shattered, sending fragments of glowing ice raining down upon the field. In a beautiful display of aerial dancing, Ronin's prized, ice carved dragon came swooping down, floating just over its masters head as it let a powerful roar escape its rather thin throat. (3000/2500)

"I summon, Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon!" Ronin exclaimed, whipping his hands up to the large dragon.

Around the body of the beast, a feint, light blue aura began to appear, shining brightly through the room. It made Ronin's heart feel the strength of many people. Reminding him why he was fighting.

In his mind, he could see the faces of all the monsters of the village. He could see how scared they were when he first arrived in their small town, and how much they ranted on about the war of the crystal. The sympathy though came freely from Ronin, as he understood what it meant for them. How this war had ruined many lives.

Their words echoing in his mind _"We have faith in you. We know you won't let us down."_

"It has changed." Reku murmured under his voice, looking at the glowing dragon with wide eyes. "It is no longer driven by darkness. It has grown to represent more than just power to Ronin; it is now feeding off of his will to stop Freyr. A sense of justice in it."

"But how can that be?" Akina looked on with Reku, noticing the same change. "What is so different this time?"

"Maybe Ronin has found the answers he really was looking for. Something to fight for maybe." Smiling a bit, Reku felt a slight growing in respect for his old friend yet again. _"I knew you wouldn't be so completely blind all the rest of your life. You were always a smart person. The Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon is no longer a symbol of power, but another partner to you, isn't it?"_

Clenching his fingers into a fist, Ronin smirked a bit. "Thanks to the power of my field magic card, my Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon is gaining some attack and defense points!"

Roaring again, the aura around the beast shattered, sending a wave of artic fog falling over Ronin again. (3200/2700)

"Attack!" Pulling his arm down, Ronin held it out towards the attack target; Freyr's Sky Scourge Enrise.

Its jaw stretched wide open; the ice dragon sent a blast of dark blue flames made entirely out of ice rushing towards the opponent. The surge of energy sent a wave of artic mist flying all over the ghastly beach on its path towards the target.

"I shall do the same things I did last time!" Freyr motioned to the spiraling pool of light by his feet. "Hidden trap activate; Call of the Earthbound!"

From the vortex, a large, ghastly purple hand came racing out, grasping the Mad Reloader tightly in its claw-like hands. Picking it up with ease, the hand proceeded to toss the monster forward, throwing it directly into the path of the attack.

"This card lets me select the target of your attack." Freyr explained, watching the small demonic beast be ripped to shreds instantly by the force of the blast. "Activating now; the effect of my Mad Reloader kicks in." Taking a brief pause, Freyr pulled out two of the cards in his hand, thrusting them forward to show Ronin and the group behind him. "I have to discard two cards from my hand, but then I draw twice more."

The two cards Ronin could see were both dark, fiend type monsters, very familiar to his style of deck. Across the top their names read; Wall of Illusion (1000/1850) and Gravity Ball (1100/700)

Instantly being consumed by flames, the cards vanished from sight. Pulling his arm back, Freyr slid it over the glowing orb, collecting two more balls of energy that blasted out. Changing form into two more Duel Monsters cards, he added them to his left hand, taking only a brief second to look at their faces.

"_Dammit."_ Ronin looked at his opponent. _"His Enrise will remove my dragon next turn…"_ The names of the three cards he held ran through his mind. Yanking out the card in the dead middle, Ronin slid it into his duel disk behind his dragon. "I set one card face-down to finish my turn."

"Draw." Freyr's next card jutted off of the sphere of light, being caught mid-air by the demon. Without second though, he thrust the card forward, showing another of his deadly Sky Scourges. "I remove from my graveyard; Skelengel, Mad Reloader, Gravity Ball, and Wall of Illusion, the three dark fiend monsters and single light angel monster I need in order to call forth,"

Out of his hand, the card burst into a stream of light, landing on the field next to the first black and white monster still kneeling down. The newly summoned monster was solid black, with blood red spikes racing around its body. Its skull like head stared spitefully over the field, its jaw being contorted into a twisted smile.

Flapping its long, broken wings, the monster eased itself gently down the sandy surface below him, a massive cloud of sand still blasting out from under the monsters clawed feet. (2400/1500)

"Sky Scourge Norleras!"

"Not good." Ronin shrank back slightly, clenching his fists as he watched the powerful monster appear.

"I activate the ability of my Sky Scourge Enrise, removing your dragon from play!" Freyr began, waving his arm across his body as he spoke. "It's time for you to feel the wrath I have to bring upon you."

From its crouching position, the demonic looking angel began to thrust its torso forward, a powerful wind picking up. The dragon monster struggled for all it was worth, but still was no match for the hurricane-force wind sucking the beast in effortlessly.

Leaning back with its task complete, the monster let out a sadistic sounding laugh from it pale lips.

"Finish this." Freyr thrust his arm forward, aiming his clawed finger towards the brown haired human. "Sky Scourge Norleras attack!" Licking his lips as he spoke, Freyr's eyes filled with boiling energy. "Kill him."

Rearing back its mighty claw, the beast prepared to strike for the kill. Ripping its arm forward through the rushing air, the monster found it vanishing instantly in a large vortex that sprang out of nowhere, protecting Ronin from taking the hit.

"I activate my Negate Attack to save me." Ronin, a bit shaken even though he knew he'd be safe, pulled the trap card from his duel disk and flipped it up so that Freyr could see it. "This stops your entire battle phase."

"Lucky." Freyr growled out loud. "Seems that human luck is very common with you boy. You've survived too many times from blows that should have ended you."

"Maybe I just have more skill than you do." Ronin retorted, making it his turn to growl from his throat when Freyr broke out in hysterical laughter.

"You can't _honestly_ believe that, can you? The notion that you could even be put on a comparable level with me is erroneous!"

Quelling his laughter, the demon watched as his human opponent glared at him with nothing but malice in his eyes. A burning hate that could only be described as rage in its rawest form. Untamed by any means, unbound by any walls.

"You might be right." Ronin began to speak again, dropping his head for a second. "I don't think I am on the same level as you. There is no possible way that I could be. In fact, I can't even phantom being even remotely _close_ to your level."

Lifting his head up, Freyr could see that Ronin was smirking, smirking darkly with a devilish glint in his eyes.

"I'm far above your level you worthless demon."

"Bad move darling!" Dementia hissed, preparing to lunge at the human for insulting her master. Just as her feet left the floor, a powerful wave of energy blasted up in front of her, knocking her to the ground.

"Do not interfere." Freyr ordered his subordinate, lowering his hand from the blast of energy he just shot at his own team. Bringing his attention back to Ronin, Freyr's three eyes were glowing in a blood red demonic aura. "This one is mine. I will certainly make him sufferer for his arrogance and ignorance."

Yanking another card from his hand, Freyr held it high over head. He felt a rush of energy from the card as it began to glow right there in his hand.

"It is still my turn, so before this ends I am summoning this monster to my side of the field!"

Spiraling around the two creatures on Freyr's field, beams of snow white light engulfed the Sky Scourge Enrise, while beams of raven black light spiraled around, sucking in Sky Scourge Norleras whole. The two pillars of spiraling energy both erupted with a purple and blue flame, crashing together on the field with a large explosion of energy blasting out from the collision point.

Racing through the air, the large wave of energy crashed into the giant crystal standing behind Freyr, causing the mighty jewel to begin glowing. A huge blast of energy came rushing off of it to meet the succeeding energy pulses.

Spreading his legs wide, Ronin, as well as everyone behind him, tried their best to keep balance. The ground under than starting to shake in a violent tremor, erupting from the base of the giant crystal.

"IN PUREST FORM, RAW LIGHT AND DARKNESS CREATE NOTHING MORE THAN UTTER CHAOS!" Freyr's voice booming over the noise the earthquake was causing. "BOTH FORMS COMPLETELY GOOD, YET FILLED WITH THE MALICE OF EVIL! THERE IS NO ANSWER TO WHAT CHAOS REALLY IS!" Ripping out of his grasp, the card reverted to its form of light, shooting directly into the large twisters that were before him. This caused a large electrical storm of black and white lighting to go surging through the room.

* * *

Deruku's eyes snapped open. His body was sitting upon a clear, turning gear beneath him, but his body was not turning with it. All around him was darkness, filled with more outlines of spinning gears, and streams of numbers that were rotating so fast around him, they appeared to be nothing more than rings of light. 

"The crystal is unleashing a massive amount of energy." Deruku's words echoed in the abyss, bouncing back hundreds of times to his ears. "Is Freyr causing this?"

Growling a bit, the robbed man closed his eyes, causing the stream of numbers and the gears to lose some speed, moving much slower now. Seconds later, he reopened his eyes to star at the darkness that was beyond the gear he sat on.

"It is a disturbance of power around the crystal, but I still have a little bit of time. Not much though…"

The speed of the gears and numbers began to increase again, slowly moving towards Deruku's body.

"I must hurry!"

* * *

Sachiko, Chime, Usami, Ryokurio, Kaira and Order all had fallen hard to the floor below. This earthquake that sudden shot up was much more violent than the previous ones. 

"Freyr must be releasing raw energy from the crystal somehow. Or has aggravated it with some other form of raw energy!" Order spoke, pressing her hand against the wall to keep herself from sliding around on the floor.

"Can you aggravate the crystal easily?" Sachiko cried back, getting what she believe to be Order shaking her head. Though it was hard to tell, her vision was a bit bouncy at the moment.

"Not at all!" Order yelled back. "It takes something of equal or grater energy to set off the inner power of the crystal. If this keeps up, the entire castle is going to come down!"

"Then we have to stop him!" Chime interrupted, stabilizing herself by sitting next to the bolted down table leg of the table resting in the corner of the room. "Could it be possible that they have all failed against him and this is the apocalypse?"

"They wouldn't give up so…" Ryokurio began to yell back, but the room stopped shaking, just as quickly as it had started. Looking around for a second, Ryokurio brought his attention back to the green haired woman, who was looking just as shocked. "easily…"

"Well, then maybe they need some backup!" Chime pulled herself to her feet, finding herself a bit dizzy from all the shaking. Pressing her hand against her face, she took a deep breath to try and calm herself.

"But there is nothing we can do. We don't even have crystal cards." Sachiko spoke as she braced herself against the wall to help pull herself up. "It'd be different if we had a way to fight. But even three extremely powerful demons were ripped to shreds by Freyr alone. What could us humans honestly do?"

Kaira coughed slightly, reminding Sachiko that she was still there, and that she wasn't exactly human.

"Maybe there is a way to fight though. At least for me." Chime removed her hand, looking at Sachiko with a very stern and serious look. "I may not own a crystal card, but I own something that has proven to be just as powerful." Holding up her duel disk, she pulled the top card free, flicking it over to revealed the green boarded card; The Seal of Orichalcos.

"You can't possibly be serious!" Ryokurio protested, also finally making his way back to his feet. "That thing has brought us nothing but bad luck. It is pure evil!"

"It is a tool to whoever uses it." Chime shot back, sliding the card back onto her deck. "It just always seemed to be a dark purpose. Collecting the souls of the victims to use as energy for one means or another. Reviving a god. Bringing about the swift annihilation of human free will. And so on." Lowering the duel disk to her side, she turned and slowly began to walk towards the door. "But Freyr seems to want to end human life as we know it already. Maybe, for once, with a good purpose, this card can save humanity."

"She has a point brother." Usami came up next to Ryokurio, who was looking a bit dumbfounded by the ex-villain's speech. "Maybe we could use it to seal away Freyr's soul."

"If you can trap him in it." Ryokurio spoke, watching as Chime slowly left the room. "Regardless of what I say, I can't stop you. Go. And…" looking back over her shoulder, Chime saw Ryokurio flashing her a thumbs up, a smile on his face. "Good luck."

Smiling back, the woman turned and exited the room. Closing her eyes as she walked out into the dark hall, the candles all having been put out with the last shockwave.

"Thank you." She murmured under her breath. Opening her eyes, she took off running down the hall.

* * *

The shaking of the room had ceased, and the entire gang was standing, awestruck at what was before them. 

Darkness had covered the room with the fires of the candles being gone. But it was still bright enough to see. The large crystal behind Freyr was glowing with a white light, splashing over everyone in the room like a mini sun. Surges of electrical energy could be seen visibly tracing their way along the surface of the stone.

But the stone wasn't the only source of light in the room.

Ronin stood with his head cranked backwards, staring up at the being that Freyr had summoned to his field. It was composed of light, rainbow colors shooting through the shapeless material that was roughly forming a human like body.

This body of energy came from a large, diamond shaped crystal head that was resting at the very top. Shimmering, the gemstone slighting move, almost as if it were looking down at the group of humans and demons that stood in front of it. Spiraling around the crystal were large orbs of light, each in a different color. They seemed connected to it like a moon to a planet.

Shooting off of the beast's body, a chilling light seemed to roughly fall over Ronin, causing a shiver to go racing down his spinal cord.

"Wh…wha…what is that thing?!" Ronin questioned.

"If you honestly though my Sky Scourges were tough, you'll stand no chance against the rawest form of light and dark." Freyr spoke to Ronin from behind the monster; his arm still raised high in the air. Letting it slowly fall back down, Freyr's eyes peeled open, gazing upon the human that stood across from him. "Nothing you can do will stop this monster."

"No…" Ronin stared in disbelief at the giant before him. Just the aura of the monster made it very well known that he was powerful. _"There has to be some way to stop it. There has to be."_

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Negate Attack  
**Counter Trap**  
**You can only activate this card when your opponent's monster declares an attack. Negate the attack of that 1 monster and end the Battle Phase.

Chime: "Negate Attack is one of the more common card in circulation. Many use this versatile card to get out of tough binds that the opponent might put them in. Everything from stopping a direct attack, to saving your weaker monsters, this card can come in handy at many, many times. Especially good to halt a swarm of monsters that come at you, seeing how this card takes your opponent right out of the battle phase!"

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	48. Fatal Turns

Episode 48: Fatal Turns

Towering high over Ronin's head a large beast made of solid light stood with a solid spine, even though its body had no physical shape. Resting upon the shoulders of the rainbow colored light energy, a large, diamond shaped crystal was place to look out at the world with its shining glory. Around the head of the beast, several multi-colored orbs spun very slowly in a clockwise fashion.

All Ronin could do was swallow hard. His opponent had a gigantic monster on the field, whose mere presence made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

Shifting his fingers around slightly, he could feel the two cards he held in his hand. He had nothing on the field except his A Legendary Ocean field magic card, which gave his water monsters a slight boost in his favor.

But…

"I want to see you squirm human." Freyr was dead serious as he spoke. Not even a twisted joke-like laugh could be heard this time. "It's obvious to me that you don't quite understand the chain of command here. And I plan to fix that. I sacrificed my Sky Scourge Norleras and Sky Scourge Enrise in order to summon forth: Essence of Light and Dark – Khaos!" (4800/4800)

Lifting its arms, the Essence of Light and Dark – Khaos pointed its palms towards the human duelist that stood in front of it. Its introduction made a massive surge of rainbow colored energy flow through its illusionary body.

"My monster can only be normal summoned by removing from my side of the field a light and a dark-type monster. Then his attack and defense scores are calculated depending on how strong of attack the two monsters had that went into forming him. Since both monsters had 2400, my Khaos is 4800 points strong." Freyr explained, finally cracking his psychopath-like smile across his red lips. "But since you've foiled my plan of attack this turn, I am going to say that its now your turn. Try and deal with Khaos, if you dare."

"If I dare?" Ronin questioned, looking at the demon. "You don't think that I would…"

"Back out?" Freyr interrupted, perfectly finishing his opponent's sentence for him. "Of course I do. Who wouldn't back out? I mean, faced against pure and utter chaos in any form isn't good for the psyche."

"You just don't know me as well as you think you do." Ronin put up a brave façade, lifting his duel disk up to his chest and placing his fingers on the top card of his deck. "It's my turn…"

His eyes moved from his deck, traveling up his right arm slightly to see the now cracked and dented in sapphire colored armor that he had gained from the Goblin King. His fingers twitched slightly when he thought about all the faces of the monsters that saw him off.

"_They are counting on me to do my best. To stop this war. To make sure that this crystal doesn't ruin the lives of anyone else. I matter to them. They could see that I was strong. Their only hope. Unlike these people behind me."_ Closing his eyes for a second, he pictured the gang in his head. _"They kept telling me that they knew I was strong, yet I didn't feel it next to them. If I was strong, were they dueling gods? No, I didn't feel strong, I felt like I was bringing up the rear. The extra baggage of the team. But now…"_

Pulling the top card off of his deck, Ronin opened his eyes, looking directly at Freyr.

"I have a purpose to fight!" Shifting his eyes for a second to the card he had drawn, he looked back up, feeling a slight rumble under his feet. "I pay out the 500 life points your stupid Bank of the Wailing River card makes me pay."

Ronin-800 LP  
Freyr-5900 LP

Sliding the card it into his duel disk instantly afterwards, Ronin caused the holographic image to appear before him. "I activate Dream of the Ensured!"

Pulling one of the remaining cards out of his hand, Ronin flipped it over to reveal his Snow Serpent monster before whipping it out of view.

"I remove one card from my hand from play in order to draw two new cards from my deck." Plucking two cards off of his deck, Ronin looked at them with eye of determination. Flipping them over, a smile creasing his face. "I have to show you what I've drawn, but I will gain 300 life points for each monster of level seven or higher that I get."

The cards in Ronin's hand were his White Blizzard magic card and his Levia-Dragon – Daedalus.

A strange snow like mist fell down over Ronin's body, making a smile come across his face. His determination growing even more, despite the fact he was standing in the face of a monster made of pure chaos.

Ronin-1100 LP  
Freyr-5900 LP

Flipping the cards over, Ronin slid them into his left hand before sliding out the last of the old cards he held, inserting it into the emerald green duel disk.

"I activate my Hydra Fusion card. This will remove from my graveyard and from my deck, at least one fusion material monster listed on a water, fish, sea-serpent, or aqua fusion monster in my fusion deck." Yanking out his shrinking deck, Ronin fanned it open, searching it for a few seconds before yanking out a yellow boardered card and showing it to his opponent. "I remove from my deck Kaiser Bass (2400/1000), and from my graveyard, a monster I played on my first turn. Terrorking Salmon!"

Popping out of his graveyard, the first large fish monster appeared, being swiped up by Ronin instantly.

"Now fuse into…" Whipping his right hand up, a large vortex of blue energy began to form above his head. From the swirling vortex, a ghastly, bony fish monster came bursting out onto Ronin's field. The sand and water below it was kicked up as the large fish hovered down above it. A mane of roaring white flames grew larger as the fish roared with an unnatural voice. (3000/2000) "King Death Fish!"

"What a fool." Freyr murmured under his breath, watching Ronin dig himself into an even deeper hole.

"I now sacrifice my King Death Fish." Ronin announced, pulling out one of the two cards in his hands and holding it high over his head. "To tribute summon my Levia-Dragon – Daedalus (2600/1500), a level six monster thanks to the effect of my A Legendary Ocean!"

The card erupted in a luminous spark, showering the beach and water with a dazzling lightshow. Being drenched in the rays, the large fish monster began to glow himself, his body becoming needed energy to feed the arriving beast. Forming a streak of light, the dead fish monster bounded through the air, slamming into the card that was in its master's hands.

His arm whipped down. The card being placed on the center rectangle on his duel tray, causing the machine to hum and beep as card data went flowing through its confines.

Waves of blue energy came flowing out of the water and sand below, spiraling into a long pillar just over Ronin's head. The form broke, leaving Ronin's large, blue sea-serpent slithering in mid air over head. The dark navy blue crown on its head revealed the set of four red, jewel-like eyes underneath and the monster reared back, gazing at the being of light that was to be its opponent. The sides of the monsters mouth curled up into a dastardly smile, revealing rows upon rows of pearly white, razor sharp teeth. (2800/1700)

"It is time to take this duel in my own hands." Ronin declared, swinging his arm up vertically so that his duel tray was right in front of his face. With his right hand, he reached out and smacked the end side of the device, causing the small field magic card slot to pop open. "By sacrificing a card named Umi on my side of the field, Daedalus can destroy everything and everyone except himself. Since A Legendary Ocean counts as Umi while it is on the field, it is a legal target!"

Pulling the card out, the water that was crashing against the beach seemed to vanish instantly, leaving nothing but old-film-style sand beneath their feet.

Seeing this, Daedalus began to roar, waves of light and dark blue energy came erupting from the beasts large throat. His eyes glowing with rage, the monster snapped its mouth shut, causing a shockwave to shoot through the room, temporarily blinding everyone.

"Your 'all-mighty' monster has fallen!" Ronin yelled out through the whiteness that blanketed the room. He could hear the familiar sound of cards shattering, music to his ears.

Or so he thought.

As vision returned to the room, Ronin's eyes grew wide with fear and horror. Freyr's other two cards had shattered leaving them once again standing on the broken tile floor of the room. But, standing across from him, enclosed in a veil of transparent white and black energy, the large beast of chaos stood tall.

Freyr's smile was wide; all his curved, jagged fangs were in full view. His eyes filled with the joy of a child in a candy store. The pure shock of his opponent gave him such pleasure.

"Let's add insult to injury, shall we." Freyr began, holding out his right hand to the floating orb next to him. A beam of light shot out, being caught in his hand before he flipped it over to show a purple boarded card. "When Bank of the Wailing River is destroyed, I add one Woeful River Waters from my deck or graveyard to my hand."

"But…" Ronin shook his head, opening his eyes and jerking his hand forward towards the large beast that he thought he had killed. "How in the hell is that thing still on the field?!"

"Oh, that?" Freyr was mocking Ronin, acting as if he didn't know why his opponent was so mad. "That is simple. Essence of Light and Dark – Khaos can't be destroyed by magic, trap or monster effect if there are ten or more cards removed from play. I have that many removed on my own, but the seven you have removed also helps."

"You couldn't have mentioned that before…" Ronin growled, looking down at the useless card in his hand. The fear returning to him. All confidence he had was drained in the disappointing setback.

His hand was shaking. The broken armor he wore clanked a bit from the sudden jerking motions. Closing his eyes he gritted his teeth.

"They were counting on me…"

"They?" Kevin looked over at Joe, Gurabe, Reku and Akina. "Who is they?"

"Not a clue." Joe shrugged, looking back at his dueling friend.

"Whoever 'they' are, they are the reason for him fighting so hard here." Reku spoke, confirming what he had felt all along in this duel. "He finally found something worth fighting for. He finally has made peace with what inferiority complex issues he seemed to have with us."

His eyes silently pulled open, quickly blinking as he stared down at the golden floor below. His eyes followed the black creases that were caused by the large earthquake of the crystal. Looking up at his opponent he breathed deeply, letting out a long sigh. "I failed. I end my turn." (Levia-Dragon – Daedalus 2600/1500)

"Then the final turn is here." Freyr spoke, his joy still obvious. Lifting his right hand up, he slashed it over the face of the orb of light, pulling away to reveal another card, adding it to his left hand before he threw his empty right hand forward. "Khaos attack his Daedalus! Annihilation of Order!"

The beast wasted no time, throwing his arms up from inside the barrier he was still confined in. The outer shell of said force-field began to expand outwards. Crusing through the entire room, the swirl of black and white fell over everyone, making everything seem to them to be mono-colored gray. The only things they saw in color were each other.

"It's so cold…" Akina protested, wrapping her arms around her body. "I feel so empty."

"_It is rather strange. But this presence is even strong enough to make me feel incredibly chilled by it."_ Kiro thought to himself, watching the group of humans' sufferer from the attack.

All of their heads where jerked back to the dueling field before them when the all saw the large sea snake begin to flail around in mass amounts of pain. Even though the beast had it mouth wide open, no sounds came from it. Like his screams of pain were lost in the air before they could reach anyone's ears.

Ronin fell to his knees, wrapping his own arms around his body. Slowly, like his monster, he began to lose his coloring as the strange attack began to make him into shades of gray.

Eyes wide, Ronin whipped back his head to scream in pain himself, but his voice was also gone, lost to the ears of those around.

Shattering in a huge, soundless explosion, Daedalus died, throwing Ronin violently backwards past the group into the wall behind them, sliding to the floor. Everyone was fixated on Ronin now, the seemingly lifeless body flopping over against the floor, still in complete silence.

Finally, the color of the room began to return, flowing over everything again and wrapping everyone in its warm embrace. The first noise that could be heard though was a loud buzzer going off.

It was Ronin's duel disk. His Life Point counter dropping to zero to indicate the loss.

Ronin-0 LP  
Freyr-5900 LP

"My god! Ronin!" Reku yelled out as he ran back towards his old friend. Kneeling down, he slowly reached out, placing his hand on the shoulder of his friend. The first thing he noticed was that, just by his touch, the armor on the shoulder blade began to sink inwards and crack some more.

A fear was growing inside of him. Not of Freyr. Not even because of his monster. But the man lying before him motionless. Had the eternal sleep blanketed him?

"_Strong enough monsters in this world actually hold the power to kill us in a duel."_ He remembered, looking down at Ronin. _"Our life points become a little more literal if we get into a high leveled duel like this one."_

"Well, I hope you've all learned a lesson from this." Freyr yelled out, causing everyone but Reku to look at the red skinned demon with malice in their eyes. "No one here has the balls to stand up to me, nor the actual power to stop me. Just give up and accept that I've won."

"Not going to happen you arrogant ass hole!" Kooru yelled out, blasting forward. _"I knew I should have stopped him while he was dueling! Why do I keep waiting to see how those things turn out?"_ Swinging the sword around his body, the raven-black blade began to glow in a crimson colored aura. _"I _know_ he is too strong to deal with that way!"_

"Not going to happen." Freyr chuckled, watching as Kooru was stopped dead in his tracks as a barrier appeared before him. This barrier took the form of a leg made out of energy, surging in a rainbow of colors. "Silly Kooru, I _know_ you are smarter that to try just a frontal assault. Unless you've just grown old and stupid since I served under you, bowing to your whims."

Being stopped by Khaos, Kooru backed up slightly to avoid the monster taking a kick at him with him not having any reaction time to it.

Mockingly putting his right hand against his chin, he seemed to be scratching his lower jaw with his index finger and his thumb like he was thinking. "But wait! Come to think of it, you did show some stupidity when you turned against me, making me like this! Allowing it to happen. Believe it or not Kooru, all of this, everything that has happened recently and probably even before I was revived, is your entire fault!"

"It was a mistake, I agree." Kooru lifted the still glowing sword up to his left side. "The biggest mistake I've ever made in my life. I should have never left. I was a little to distracted with the war. It was hard losing you like that; you were always one of my best generals!"

Ripping his arm across his body, Kooru sent out a blast of the red energy from the tip of his sword. Cutting through the air, the attack found itself helplessly crashing into a veil that sprung into sight seconds before the wave hit it. The gigantic chaos monster had protected Freyr again.

"But the greed of others made this happen to me." Freyr was calm as he spoke, knowing his large monster was stronger than Kooru and his little weapon. "The idea to get ahead in the war was too tempting to pass up, and any rivalry between your top generals could have a chance to vanish should the experiment go wrong like it was predicted to. A chance to eliminate the competition is always a human's first goal to success. Take that pathetic one for example.

"Our lovely duelist of ice and water over there," Freyr pointed with his claw, locking-on to the motionless body of his last opponent and the human who was still kneeling next to him. "He couldn't wait to get ahead in this world. He wanted to play the ancient game better than anyone. The only way he was going to do that was to go after his rivals. Eliminating them one at a time until no one was left but him. Then he'd be top dog after all. The problem is that it was empty to him, which is where the filthy human actually had some brain cells. Most wouldn't care: 'a win is a win', but he didn't win on his own power. Taking a free power boost from someone else and using it to win gave him nothing in return. He didn't win on his own, and deep down, he knew that, but he just kept kidding himself. Instead of using his own strength to work with the cards he had given to him, he was just using them as tools to win."

"You sure seem to think you know a lot about him." Joe interrupted, stepping forward in the small group. "You don't know jack shit about him. The kind of man he was before this bitch corrupted his mind and heart!" Slashing his arm forward, he motioned towards the vampire who was standing on Freyr's side of the field.

"All I did was break down the barriers that he built up to keep himself 'happy'." Dementia quoted with her fingers as she spoke, replying to the human. "Everything else was all his doing. All his wants and desires. He is, after all, nothing more than human."

"Ah yes, human." Freyr perked up as he heard Dementia's last sentence. "You can't say that anymore, can you dual soul?" Freyr turned towards Kiro, who was watching silently from next to Heruru and Hebanu, both a little to stunned to move seeing Kooru's failed attempt. "I mean, you sacrificed your humanity for power, didn't you?"

"Not quite. I never made this choice." Kiro growled in response. "It just kind of happened to me."

"It did, on the flight-or-fight mechanism that all living things seem to have. But the choice you had was to fight it or not." Freyr closed his eyes. "I made the same mistake. Your mind may have rejected the idea forwardly, but deep down, you felt the power. You liked it. It goes past your human limitations in every possible way. You're faster, stronger; your senses are keener and attune to the world around you. Once you tasted it, you realized just how much you were missing out on being a human."

"…" Kiro opened his mouth to reply, but closed it instantly. _"He…is right…"_

"You could have fought it off in its early stages. Pushed it back. True, you wouldn't have been fully human ever again, but more so than you are now. Definitely could have lived out most of your life not in pain. But you didn't know back then that being a demon-human hybrid was going to kill you from the inside out, did you?"

"So…he's going to die?" Kevin questioned.

"Yes. He probably would have sooner, seeing as he's already this far into it. But I wanted to confirm something." Freyr looked back over at the spiky haired demon who he was speaking about. "You have not only a will to keep living, but you are stabilized by the crystal. The same way that I have been able to live all this long."

"Then by that means, I am just as strong as you are." Kiro lifted his arms, flexing his claws with a bit of uncertainty.

Laughing a bit, Freyr shook his head. "No, no. Your power came from outside." Lifting his finger, he pointed towards Kiro's chest. "Mine is a much bigger chunk, and its here." Pulling his arm back, he patted his bare chest with his palm. "Even the notion that you could possibly be a fraction of my strength is delusional. Almost as much so as that human believing he could beat me. Like all humans, he is a total fool."

"I don't think he was." Reku spoke finally, pulling himself to his feet. Slowly turning, the anger packed eyes in his head falling upon the demon. "He did have a bit of an inner struggle that he took out on everyone else. But in the end, he was still fighting on the good side. The side trying to stop YOU!"

Snapping his left arm up, Reku revealed his duel disk was still active from before the duel even started.

"I think you're the fool. Overconfident that _nothing_ can stop you. Well what do you say hot-shot? Care to take me on?"

"No!" Kooru yelled back over his shoulder. "Playing your stupid game isn't going to stop him! Haven't you learned that already, this is going to have to be dealt with in the old fashioned, brutal way!"

"And you think you are going to stop me?" Freyr chuckled, waving his arm across his body before letting it fall to his side again. "Not likely."

With a mental command given, the large beast that still remained on the field before Kooru began to emit a wave of pure white light, crashing into Kooru's chest and sending him flying back into the unprepared arms of the other three demons. All four of them went sprawling to the floor, the black bladed sword sliding across the ground before hitting the wall.

The saliva in Reku's mouth suddenly vanished, finding it very dry and hot in there. Still standing tall, the young man slowly made his way forward, his arms swinging gently at his side as he slowly walked up to where Ronin was once standing.

"What makes you think that you'll do any better than him?" Freyr questioned with a bouncing in his voice to indicate his amusement at the thought. "If I have heard correctly, he beat you. And since I beat him, we can easily see how the chain of power falls."

"Are you trying to get out of it?" Reku, despite his fear, spread his legs to a wider stance, lifting up his duel disk again to just before his chest. Pulling out his deck, he began to shuffle it. "Sounds like you don't want to face me."

"Your right, I don't." Freyr admitted, steeping back slightly. Swinging his arm around, he slammed his palm into the face of the crystal behind him. "I'd rather get moving on with my plan. So I desire to know why you think you could give me a more entertaining reason to play with you rather than continue."

"Because I…" Reku was caught off when he felt a hand falling on his shoulder.

"Have me on his team." Akina's voice came floating past Reku's ear, making him jerk his head around to see the young woman standing next to him, her duel tray activating before her body as she spoke.

"Akina," Reku was about to protest her proposal. Looking at her silenced him, her tender smile begging him to speak no more. Her eyes were kind, like they always were. Pools of caring, dark blue waters that invited anyone in who would accept her invitation to help. That was just the kind of person that she was, and the reason Reku loved her so much.

"I don't want to lose you again. If anything is going to happen, I'm going to be right here by your side."

Her words were guided by her voice into Reku's ears making the young man close his eyes and smile. All he could do was nod.

"I'm not going anywhere Reku. I'll stand by your side always and forever." Akina pulled out her own deck of cards before sliding them into her already activated duel disk. "Together we can take down this overgrown pimple. I know we can."

"Akina?" His eyes slowly opened, gazing upon the young woman before him. Rotating her head, she looked back up at Reku, her eyes filled with curiosity. "Do you really mean that? That you want to be by my side forever?"

"Um…" Akina sweat dropped, a bit confused as to why Reku was suddenly asking this. A slow nodding of her head indicated that her mind was answering before her mouth was able to. "Yeah, I really do mean it…" She finally spoke.

Her eyes growing wide, she inhaled a deep breath.

"Oh my god, Reku… are you…"

"I…" Interrupting her mid sentence, he placed his hands on her shoulders, fully rotating her so that she was right before him. "I realized when we were separated, that we had no idea what honestly happened to each other. I just kept hoping that nothing had happened to you. And I know it wasn't easy for you having no clue what happened to me. I don't want us to ever lose each other like that again.

"We've honestly never done anything by-the-book in this relationship. From the start of it up until now we've kind of had an odd run through it. But through it all, you've stuck by my side, and your faith in me has never wavered. Regardless of what happens here, I want to know now. If I asked you to be by my side forever, what would you say?" Blushing a bit, Reku shifted his eyes off of her to the tiled floor below. "Would you…marry…me?"

Nobody in the room said anything. Even Freyr and Dementia were a bit flabbergasted that Reku had suddenly popped the question.

The four demons, who had pulled themselves back to their feet, were frozen in their tracks, unsure if they had heard the human right. The confusion, and a twinge of anger at how stupid it sounded, ran through their faces.

"…you…wait until _now_ to bring that up?" Freyr asked Reku, finally breaking the silence. "You humans really don't do things by the book now-a-days…"

"Yeah….is this really the best time to be doing this?" Gurabe also protested, a bit shaken up at the thought of it, and the poor timing.

"It really isn't." Reku agreed with both friend and foe in this case. "But I really want to know, on the off chance I lose her again." Pulling his head back up, his gaze locked with Akina's.

She was blushing as well, her face burning red. A smile was stretching from ear to ear as she began to slowly move her head up and down. "Yes…of course I will."

"Touching." Freyr, now picking the inside of his ear with his pinky finger, once again interrupted the scene. "But when I'm through here, there won't be much of a world left for you to live in together. Your happiness will be sucked dry, so you'll live together miserably."

"Not a chance." Reku, letting go of Akina, turned and faced towards Freyr. "Because we aren't going to let you ruin the world. Right Akina?" Glancing over to her, he had to give her a thumbs up sign before she could respond, even if it was nothing more than another nod.

"Alright, I'll accept your stupid little game, since it seems you now have shown me a good reason that you'll fight hard. It could be entertaining. But since it's going to be two on one, with your own decision, I get to make a choice of my own." Freyr lifted his left hand, showing the five cards he was still holding there. "I'm choosing to continue the game from where I left off with that last human. Of course, this means I have more effects to explain."

"Like what?" Reku asked, watching his opponent swiftly move his arm up to indicate he was talking about his Essence of Light and Dark – Khaos.

"You see, to finish that last game, Khaos killed a monsters. When it destroys a monster, I gain life points equal to the number of cards removed from play times 100. I have ten cards removed from play, while he had seven of his own. I'll gain back a total of 1700 points because of this!"

Freyr-7600 LP

"Alright, so then I believe that I end my turn. So whoever wishes to go next better draw their cards and get going already."

"Impatient aren't we?" Reku smirked, lifting his duel disk up and slowly plucking off five cards before he looked over to his partner, who was still staring at him a bit confused. "You ready to go?"

"Of…course." She shook it off, slowly backing away from Reku to give the two some space. Turning to face her opponent she drew the top five cards off of her deck and fanned them out. "Go ahead Reku, I'll bring up the rear."

"Alright, here I go! Draw!" Yanking the top card from his deck, Reku flipped it around in his fingers before adding it to his hand. His eyes fell on each card while the gears in his head began to crank around, forming all of his possible move options.

Reku-4000 LP  
Akina-4000 LP  
Freyr-7600 LP

"_His monster is insanely powerful. I have nothing in this hand that even comes close to matching the attack power of that beast. And because he has so many cards removed from play, I can't just destroy it with a magic, trap, or monster effect."_ Reku contemplated before sliding a card out of his hand, slapping it down onto his duel disk. "I summon Existence Automaton (1300/1300) in face-up defense mode!"

The monster that formed was a small box-shaped robot, being supported by four long and snake-like tentacles that came jutting out of the longer sides of the monster. Over the top of the monster, a large glass dome encased a dark gray, mechanical brain that was plugged into the monster via wires and cords.

"When this monster is summoned to the field," Reku pulled his hand away from his card as he spoke, "I gain 200 life points for each card that is on the field. I have him, and you have Khaos, so 400 more points to me."

Reku-4400 LP  
Akina-4000 LP  
Freyr-7600 LP

"But that isn't all, when he's summoned, if I have the same number of cards in my hand as my opponent, I gain an additional 500 life points." Reku fanned open the five cards he was holding, lifting his free right hand to point to the demon across from him who also was holding five cards. "Looks like we are equal there."

Reku-4900 LP  
Akina-4000 LP  
Freyr-7600 LP

Chuckling, Freyr slid the five cards he held into a stack as Reku's life points increased again. "The fact that you compare us and say 'equal' is doing nothing more than showing your stupidity."

"We'll see who's stupid." Reku growled as he freed a card from his hand. "I set a card to finish my turn."

As the card rippled into view right in front of Reku's feet, Akina was busy yanking the sixth card from her own deck. "Draw!" She cried out, flipping the card over and looking at its face. _"I've definitely had better starting hands before."_ She quietly placed the card in her hand before seeing what else she could do. _"I have to fight hard though. I won't let him ruin my future with Reku."_

Appearing in a burst of light, a horizontally turned Duel Monsters card materialized before Akina. Shooting out of the card image, a beam of light twisted up before formed a short woman who crouched down onto the card. He body was draped in a lovely white dress that only emphasized the long, golden brown hair that fell down around it.

Tightly grasped in her delicate hands, a clear glass orb, flowing with a blue energy, was held tightly against her chest. (500/600)

"I summon Mage's Orb Holder in defense mode." Akina declared as she pulled her hand away from the card she had just placed on her duel tray. Her hand quickly moved towards her deck, sliding off the top three cards. "I then activate her effect, allowing me to pick up the top three cards off of my deck, and summon all level three or lower monsters from it to my side of the field."

Fanning open the three cards, she smiled a bit at what she saw. Pulling out one of the three cards with her left hand, her hand cards palmed for the moment, she flipped it over to reveal it to be her Gravity Bind card.

"This being the only card I can't summon, so it goes to my grave." She proceeded to place the other two cards she held onto her duel disk as she explained, causing two more blasts of light as two more monsters appeared.

One of the new monsters was a small dragon monster with an insanely cute face smiling out at the world. The monster though grew scared looking up at the towering colossal monster before it. Curling up into a small ball, the dragon tried its best to hide itself from its foe.

The other monster was a small pink ball monster, with short stubby hands and legs popping out of the side of it. Its charcoal black eyes also grew wide at the sight of its foe, causing it to shiver all over.

"I summon Petit Dragon (600/700) and Petit Angel (600/900) to my field, both in defense position." She declared before pulling the Gravity Bind out of her hand and sliding it into her graveyard slot.

"_Good. She's well protected. It'll take a massive swarm for him to even get close to her life points."_ Reku smiled; pleased with the wall Akina was building.

"I set this," she continued, pushing another card into her duel tray. "And then I end my turn."

"How pitifully horrible." Freyr was waving his hand over the floating orb next to him as he shook his head. "Two on one and this is still the best moves you guys could think of to make. If this is how you duel, I'll have this game in the bag in a couple of turns." Pulling his arm back, Freyr pushed the collection of energy he held into his left hand, watching it take form into a card. "So here it is."

Chuckling a bit, Freyr pulled another card from his hand, flipping it over to show a green bordered card with a picture of a large snake wrapped around the world, biting its own tail.

"I activate Midgard Serpent's Style Attack!" Flowing out of his fingers, the card melted back into a stream of light, shooting up and collecting against Khaos's back, being absorbed by the beast instantly. "This card will see to the end of your pitiful wall."

"How?" Reku's eyes grew wide with Freyr's declaration. "He's but one monster!"

"With a very powerful magic flowing through him." Freyr continued. All around the body of the large monster, the feint, transparent image of a large snake appeared, wrapping itself around the torso of the beast several times before snapping down onto its own tail. "A magic that allows his attack capacity to increase to match that of his enemies defenses."

"It…" Akina began, watching the monster of light lift its arms.

"Can attack all of our monsters…" Reku finished.

"And it shall!" Freyr threw his right arm forward, aiming it towards his opponents. "Annihilation of Order!"

From the palms of the beast, a wave of gray energy came bursting out, blanketing the entire room again in the cold, gray atmosphere. Slowly, the monsters began to lose their own color, sinking further into the curtain of the attack. As the pain began to shoot through their bodies, the monsters began to flail about, screaming into a soundless world.

As the room began to sink back into a color-filled reality, four large, yet completely silent, explosions shot out on Reku's and Akina's field, throwing gray smoke through the air. The smoke slowly billowing up towards the ceiling, spinning into a large, dark cloud before dispersing through the room.

"Where will this end?" Freyr pretended to speak for his opponents, both of which were shielding themselves from the smoke. "Well, it'll end when Khaos activates his effect. But not just once, but four times! Each time he kills a monster, my life value shoots up by the number of cards removed from play times 100, remember?"

"It can't be…" Akina coughed, having inhaled a bit of the smoke.

"The ten I own, and the seven that fool Ronin had, makes for a nice 1700 boost. Times that by four makes for a…"

Reku-4900 LP  
Akina-4000 LP  
Freyr-14400 LP

"Sixty-eight hundred Life Point boost!"

"_That's a lot of life points."_ Reku shook his head, fanning the smoke away with his hand cards. _"And his monster is far too powerful to take down with any mere attack. But it's protected from everything that would destroy it other than attacking."_

"What are we going to do?" Akina asked her partner, looking over at him with a pleading look in her eyes. Begging for him to give her an answer that would solve their problems.

He didn't have one.

What he did have was a outward smile, hading his doubt, anger and fear. "We keep fighting." Reassuring tones bounced in his voice. If only he did know some way to keep fighting.

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Essence of Light and Dark – Khoas**  
?/?/9/Light/Fiend  
This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by removing from play from your side of the field, 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK monster. The original ATK and DEF of this monster is equal to the combined ATK of the 2 monsters you removed from play. If there are 10 or more cards removed from play, this card cannot be destroyed by Monster, Magic or Trap effect. When this card destroys a monster in battle, gain Life Points equal to the number of cards that are removed from play x 100.

Freyr: "Essence of Light and Dark – Khaos is a powerful monster, brought forth from the fusion of the light and the darkness. Removing monsters of said type from the field, this monster can be summoned. Depending on what monsters you removed, this monster can have unbelievable stats, and if you have enough monsters removed, this monster becomes indestructible. Nothing can touch Khaos!"

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	49. Toppling the Giant! A Friend’s Gift!

Episode 49: Toppling the Giant! A Friend's Gift!

Reku eyes drifted slowly over the four cards he was holding in his hand. The light on his face fluctuating with the pulsations coming off of Freyr's monster; Essence of Light and Dark – Khaos.

Just moments ago, his and Akina's entire field of monsters was blown to smithereens effortlessly. Freyr had complete control of the game. His monster was all powerful. His life points were thousands of points above their own point scores combined.

"_Why in the hell did I accept a duel like this? He started out with an invincible monster, sitting peacefully at 4800 stats."_ Reku growled, looking up at the diamonded headed beast. Around the jewel against the shoulders of life, the small circle of orbs continued their slow orbit around.

"If you're scared, feel free to back out." Freyr commented to Reku's gazing up at the monster. "No one can blame you. I mean, you had a lot of balls to even step up and challenge me, much less knowing what you were walking into."

"I'm not backing down." Reku's head fell down, settling on the demon before him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Akina nod in agreement. With this, he quickly corrected himself. "_We're_ not giving up."

"Then by all means, feel free to take your turn." Freyr let his arms float out before him, almost looking like he was motioning for a hug. "I'd love to see what you are planning to do to fight back against me. You did promise that this would be entertaining enough to keep my attention."

"It won't be entertaining for you when we win. I draw!" Reku boasted, sliding the top card from his deck and flipping it over. Sighing a bit, he slowly pushed the card in with the rest of his card, pulling away the card at the far end. "I summon Warrior of the White Flame (2000/0) in defense mode, ending my turn."

Reku's new monster was a man dressed in worn and scratched up silver armor. Crouching down on one knee, he held a long, thin, dual bladed sword that was surging with white flames, across his chest as a means of defense. Below him, an orange bordered card materialized instantly.

"_Reku has an extremely bad hand!"_ Akina realized, looking at Reku's defending monster. _"Then again, even good hands wouldn't be all that useful against this monster."_ Lifting her duel disk up, her head slowly shifted back to the field before her. With a jerk of her arm, she freed the top card off of her deck. "Draw!"

A much smaller swordsman appeared on Akina's field in a geyser of lights. Doing an impressive back flip, the pale, oval headed monster in brown leather armor landed perfectly on its horizontally turned card. In its right hand it held a short, stubby sword, and its left was a small brown shield with its own face painted onto it.

"I summon Swordsman of Landstar (500/1200) in defense mode." Akina announced, also not to pleased with her draw. "Ending my turn."

"How boring this is. I can't believe I let you talk me into this." Freyr yawned, lifting up his right hand just before his chest. Blasting out from the orb next to him, a stream of light circled around his body several times before landing in his right hand, cooling off and forming a Duel Monsters card. Smirking as the card was slowly rotated around, Freyr's eyes moved from it to his opponents. "Maybe this will liven things up a bit. At least for one of you."

Revealing a green boarded card to Reku and Akina, Freyr's next play went shooting out of his hand and into the back of his large monster, just like his last support card had. Moaning loudly, the monster seemed to shimmer a bit, unable to keep the shape of the body for a couple of seconds.

"Fairy Meteor Crush is a magic card that equips to a monster, giving said monster the ability to deal all of its damage through the defense points of a defending monster." Lifting his arm slowly, his long claw rested in mid-air, pointing towards the crouching warrior with the flaming sword. "And with a non-existent defense, this card puts an end to it and takes a chunk out of your life points."

"Dammit." Reku cursed under his breath, watching the large monster lift its hands once again. This time, between the two of them, a large spinning rock began to form, surrounded in an aura of clear, gray energy. _"This attack is going to leave me with only 100 life points left."_

"ATTACK!" Freyr bellowed out. His monster shoved its hands forward, sending the meteor racing out of its palms and shooting towards the Warrior of the White Flame.

The comet crashed into the warriors raised sword, shattering it instantly before sinking into the knight's chest. The Warrior of the White Flame instantly lost all of its coloring, flailing around with soundless screams of pain. Shattering instantly, the explosion sent flames and dust shooting over Reku's body, completely removing him from view.

Reku-3100 LP  
Akina-4000 LP  
Freyr-14400 LP

"Wait…what?" Reku couldn't help but look as confused as Freyr was, seeing his life score only go down 1800 with the destruction of his monster.

"You would have survived, but I wanted to make sure you had a little bit more room to mess around with than just 100 life points, honey." Akina spoke, making Reku look over at her and her up righted set card. "So I activated my set trap: Damage Dividing Orb! This trap negates 3000 points of damage done to a players life points when an attack would deal at least that much damage."

Akina's trap, with the picture of a large orb on a stand taking in shots of electrical energy, faded off of the field. Pulling the card out of her duel disk, Akina held it up one last time to show Freyr how she thwarted his plan before sliding it into her graveyard slot.

"Thank you." Reku smiled at his female partner, looking back towards Freyr. "Seems you aren't going to get rid of me that quickly, huh Freyr?"

"Seems you managed to hang on for a little while longer anyways." Freyr admitted, yawning a bit as he spoke. "Still not entertaining enough to make me want to continue this fight, but whatever. I am done with my turn." His life points began to climb due to the effect of his monster.

Reku-3100 LP  
Akina-4000 LP  
Freyr-16100 LP

"Oh, don't be too upset." Reku mocked his opponent, lifting his duel disk. "Draw!" His eyes went over the four cards in his hand before pulling out one of them to add to the drawn card, both of which were moved quickly towards his duel disk. "I set one card face-down." He spoke, sliding the card into his duel disk.

A spiral of lights erupted from in front of his feet, taking the form of a large, brown-backed card next to the one already sitting on his field. Before them both, another spiral of light and sparks appeared, this one forming an orange bordered card with a picture of a large, flaming snake on it.

"And I summon Solar Flare Dragon in defense mode to end my turn." Out of the card, a large snake made of molten rocks appeared, hissing loudly. Shooting from the side of the monsters head were two long, curved black horns. And racing down the length of the monsters body were red-hot flames.

Opening its mouth, the monster spit out a stream of fire that curved into a blade. Racing over the field, the card crashed into Freyr's chest, causing him to slide back a bit.

Reku-3100 LP  
Akina-4000 LP  
Freyr-15600 LP

"Oops, forgot to mention." Reku smirked, not really having forgotten. "When I end my turns, Solar Flare Dragon will deal you 500 points of damage."

"That little bit of damage you believe is going to make a difference?" Freyr chuckled, brushing off his chest before stepping forward again. "I have so much life force left that, honestly, that 500 points of damage meant nothing."

"_It's 500 points less we have to whittle off of him to get him to zero."_ Akina though while she silently lifted her duel disk up to her chest. When it was time, she interrupted the other two duelists, snapping the top card from her deck. "It is my turn now. Draw!"

A smile slowly pulled at her smooth lips, her eyes flickering from the card image to her opponent. Palming the card, Akina quickly pulled a card from her hand and slapped it down onto her duel disk.

"I start by summoning Jerry Beans Man in attack mode." She announced, the duel disk on her arm humming as the data went surging through it.

"Attack mode?!" Joe and Kevin both questioned, a bit shocked by the move.

Before Akina, hovering about level with her head, a small, yellow, bean man appeared in a poof of pink smoke. In its hand it held a stubby sword, and in the opposite hand, a flimsy, bean shaped shield.

Flowing down the monsters back was a long, blue cape which it gallantly whipped backwards as it swung its sword through the air. (1750/0)

"_She must have a plan. But what? That little guy may be strong for a level three monster, but it is still a normal monster."_ His eyes pulling back, he saw Akina pulling up the card she had drawn and sliding it into her hand to make a total of four cards. _"Khaos is immune to magic, trap and monster destruction. So she must have some way to power it up. But that would take a boost of 3050 to even match Khaos's 4800 attack."_

"I activate this magic card first." Akina explained, sliding the next card into her duel disk. "Premature Burial will cost me 800 life points, but I get to revive one monster and equip it with this card."

Reku-3100 LP  
Akina-3200 LP  
Freyr-15600 LP

"Come back," blasting out of the broken tile floor before the female duelist, the small, yellow, serpent dragon made its re-appearance. "Petit Dragon! (600/700)"

Pulling another card from her hand, Akina slid it into her duel disk. Before her in a splash of light and sparks, a holographic image of a magic card appeared. On its face, a large, old tree stood; a old wooden swing hanging from one of its many branches. Gripping the vine-chain of the swing, a young girl was staring off into the sunset that painted the background of the card a rich, golden color.

"And next I activate Swing of Reminiscence. This will let me bring back my Petit Angel (600/900) to the field for one turn." The card began to glow, shooting out a stream of light that collected in the spot next to the revived dragon. Forming with a pop and a cloud of pink smoke, the small, ball-shaped angel monster appeared.

"_Swing of Reminiscence? Reviving a normal monster for a turn is handy when used at the right time…but…"_ Joe watched silently, his eyes unblinkingly focused upon the now four normal monsters Akina had resting on her field. _"What are you planning?"_

"It's cute that you've assembled a tiny parade of cute monsters." Freyr spoke, watching Akina's pint-sized monster hop around on her field, playing with one another like children. "Obviously though, you aren't cut out for the hardness of war. Those monsters don't come close to the attack power my Khaos possesses."

"Not yet." Akina pulled one of the two remaining cards out of her hand and slid it into the small rectangular hole on her duel tray. "But when they work together, nothing can stop them. To show this team work, I activate; Sword of the Soul-Eater!"

Throwing his stubby sword to the ground, the small yellow bean monster held his white gloved hand high in the air, watching with big black eyes as a golden hilt appeared there. Shooting out above it was a large black blade; razor sharp as it fell through the air and crashed against the broken tile floor. Sparks jumping everywhere, the sword began to glow with a pair of blood red eyes, which were placed along both sides of the base of the blade, opened up.

Their bodies becoming nothing more than lime green beams of light, the Swordsman of Landstar, Petit Dragon and Petit Angel shot up into the air, spiraling into a vortex of the energy.

"When I activate this card, I sacrifice all normal monsters on my side of the field except the normal monster that I chose to equip my sword to." Akina explained, causing the spiraling energy to slowly float down the field and wrap itself along the blade that the Jerry Bean Man was holding. Seeping in flawlessly into the metal, the energy went shooting through no only the weapon but the small monster that held the rather large sword. "And thus increase the attack of my monster by 1000 points per each monster that went into it!" (4750/0)

"Alright." Reku smirked, finally seeing the fruits of Akina's plan. _"That definitely is a powerful monster. Just a little bit more and it can overpower Khaos."_ Reku's eyes fell upon the last card in Akina's hand. _"Obviously she knew she'd be that much short, so she must have a plan to get that extra bit."_

"Freyr!" It was Akina's turn to point a finger, gloating a bit. "I shall be the one to bring down your beast of chaos."

"Your monster, while strong, isn't enough to win." Freyr shook his head, dismissing her claim.

"We'll show you. Jerry Bean Man go! Attack Khaos with your Soul Slicing Sword!" Akina, her arm still raised, watched as the small yellow bean-man went shooting past her. With its feet landing flat on the floor, the monster bounded up with a mighty leap, the sword being incredibly heavy and slowing it's ascent down. But it wasn't enough to stop the monster from clearing the crystal head of the monster.

The sword went whipping past the monsters body as he began to fall again. Grasping the sword with both hands, the monster fell down towards the large beast, preparing to sink the sword into the beast's makeshift-head.

Jerking her arm back, Akina grabbed onto the last card in her hand, flipping it over. "Quick-play magic card go! Rush Recklessly will endow my Jerry Bean Man with an additional 700 attack points!" (5450/0)

The black bladed sword cracked against the large gem, breaking the tip off of the top. Cracks began to spider web down the diamond shape in record time.

A loud roar came from the beast as the body of rainbow colored light vanished as if someone had flipped a switch. Beams of light began to shoot from the cracks in the diamond, causing the orbs that were circling around to lose their gravitational pull and fall.

"You…" Freyr was watching the scene unfold. Deep down, he knew that if Akina was going to all this hard work, that she had a plan to actually take down his monster, but he was a bit shocked that she actually did.

The monster's remains shattered, falling to the ground below as nothing but nearly-invisible shards.

Reku-3100 LP  
Akina-3200 LP  
Freyr-14950 LP

"But since I used up all of my cards on that move, I'm going to have to end my turn." The Jerry Bean Man returned triumphantly to Akina's field, waving the sword around to boast about its victory over the large beast.

(Jerry Bean Man 4750/0)

"I take my turn then." Freyr lifted his right hand; catching the beam of light that erupted from the floating orb next to him and watching it form his next card.

"What's the matter?" Reku caught the demon's attention with his mocking voice. "Not so big and tough without your all-star monster?"

Chuckling, Freyr slid the card he drew into his left hand, closing all three of his eyes. "You're pretty pathetic human, did you know that?"

"Nope." Reku responded, watching the demon open his eyes again and look down at the cards he held. "Why don't you enlighten me why I'm the pathetic one?"

"You convinced yourself that Essence of Light and Dark – Khaos was my ace monster. That he was my all powerful plan." Taking one of the card he held out of his hand, Freyr held it up, its back still towards Akina and Reku. "You can't see that it was just another obstacle. Showing you how tall you must leap if you ever actually wish to stop me."

Reku and Akina both lifted their arms when the card suddenly erupted in a blast of light, sending streams of energy coursing through the air. Spiraling, the beams of light formed a ball of energy hovering over the field, shattering into the form of a monster.

Lowering their arms, the two duelists, as well as everyone else in the room was relatively surprised by the strange appearance of the monster. A petit, female monster stood draped in a lovely dress, glowing of purple and blue silk.

A crown made out of woven branches and tied together leaves rested gently over her head, keeping her long, flowing blond hair from standing up at the top. Her long, bony, and delicate fingers were running through her long hair as it fell down her side, about to her hips. Pulling it back from her side, the hair stretched and revealed more of the woman's head, showing long, pointed ears protruding from the side of the woman's skull.

Her cheeks where high, her jaw bone pressed against the skin, giving a distinct outline to it as she pulled her soft pink lips into a warm, comforting smile. The pools of aqua blue that were her eyes were sparkling, dazzling everyone in the room just with their atmosphere. (1700/1300)

"I summon my most lovely servant." Freyr's hand fell now, relived of the card he was once holding. "Exquisite Elf – Beyla; attack mode."

Lifting her arms with the introduction, Beyla began to giggle, her voice melodic as she soothed everyone in the room instantly. A slight wind spiraled around her, ruffling her dress slightly. Cupping her hands, particles of energy began to collect there, being pulled out of thin air.

"Elves are pure creatures, so don't dare try to attack Beyla with a monster of darkness. Her power will obliterate the dark power of that monster's attack, and she'll walk away from the battle unharmed."

As Freyr explained the effect of his monster, he was slowly turning, brining his eyes to rest upon the curled up snake monster on Reku's field.

"And I deem that your target Beyla. Attack Solar Flare Dragon now!" Pulling her arms closer to her chest, the monster pushed them outwards, throwing the orb of light that she had collected in her grasps racing towards the snake beast. "Natural Energy Pulse!"

"Not going to happen!" Reku announced, slashing his arm across his body. "I reveal the first of my set cards. Quick-play magic card; Specific Unit Plant! This card lets me, for the cost of my battle phase, select 1 face-up monster on the field, and Special Summon from my deck one level four or lower machine-type monster of the same attribute in attack mode."

Appearing in a blast of light, a large metal box appeared. Falling down from the side of the box, a large conveyor belt landed on the ground, slowly beginning to turn as a flap against the side of the box opened up. Steam billowed out of the hole for a second while Reku lifted his hand.

"I select my own Solar Flare Dragon, special summoning from my deck…" Appearing from the darkness in the whole, a small, green skinned turtle monster appeared. Its shell was in the shaped of a UFO; metallic looking, pointed at the top with a ring of lights that stretched around it. "UFO Turtle!" (1400/1200)

"My plan does not change; I continue my assault on your molten snake!" Freyr declared, unaffected by the new monster.

"It does change." Reku stuck his tongue out slightly, pressing a button on his duel disk, the other set card flipping up. "I reveal my other set card; Thermal Backlash!"

"Thermal Backlash?" Kevin questioned aloud, slightly more under his breath than anything.

"What's the matter?" Joe asked him, looking from the back of Reku to Kevin and back again, hoping not to miss any of the duel. "Is that bad."

"Yes, and no." Kevin began, tilting his head to the side slightly. "When Thermal Backlash is activated, a fire monster that is the target of an attack is spared from being destroyed. Then the owner of Thermal Backlash gets to select one monster on the field and destroy it."

"Sounds like a great card to me." Joe admitted, not quite sure what was bad about it.

"The one he chooses to destroy can't be the attacking or the attacked monster." Gurabe clarified, speaking for the first time since the duel started. His arms was crossed over his chest, the suit he wears pulled tight by this. "But Freyr has no other monsters except the one that is attacking, meaning Reku has to destroy one of his own team's monsters."

"True." Reku spoke loudly, having overheard the discussion behind him. "And that is just what I planned to do."

"What?" Freyr cocked one of his normal eyes, staring at the young man. "Committing genocide on your own team will accomplish what again?"

"This!" Reku whipped his arm across his body as the ball of energy finally slammed into the snake beast, being swallowed up in a massive barrier of flames that erupted from all around the monsters body. Springing away from the Solar Flare Dragon, the massive body of fire fell over the newly summoned turtle, causing it to flail in pain before shattering into a million data bits. "I choose to destroy my UFO Turtle!"

Pulling out his deck, Reku fanned it open, despite everyone in the room looking at him as if he was cheating.

"UFO Turtle effect states that I can summon a 1500 attack or less fire monster from my deck when it's destroyed."

"But that's only when it's destroyed as a result of battle." Akina protested, slightly under her voice in an attempt to hide the mistake from their opponent.

"Right." Reku nodded, looking at her for only a second before returning to his deck. Slowly siphoning through the cards, he waited patiently until the card he wanted popped up. "The monster destroyed by Thermal Backlash is destroyed in place of the fire monster that would have gone to the graveyard instead." Reku finally found the card he wanted, pulling it out of his deck and palming it in his hand while he began to shuffle his deck. "And thus; Thermal Backlash's effect is considered to have destroyed the monster as a result of battle."

Sliding the deck back into his duel disk, Reku flipped the card over, slapping it down onto his duel disk. Upon the field, an identical monster to the first Reku already had appeared, slithering around.

"I summon my second Solar Flare Dragon!" Reku announced, pulling his hand away from his duel disk and pointing to his two creatures with his outstretched palm. "Solar Flare Dragon cannot be attacked as long as a pyro monster is face-up on my field. This means, since both of them are pyro-type monsters, that you can't attack me!"

"Amusing." Freyr rolled his eyes, pulling out three of the cards he was holding onto and slinging them into the air. The cards transformed into pools of light, landing behind the lovely elvin woman. "I will hide three cards on my field, ending my turn."

"Then I shall draw." Reku exclaimed, yanking the top card from his deck and adding it to his hand. Looking up, Reku took notice of the floating orb that was acting as Freyr's deck. It was significantly smaller than when the duel had begun. _"I think, like any duelist, he's confined to a deck size. If he uses up all the cards in his deck, he should lose the game. And he has used a ton of cards already, seeing as he played a good chunk of them in his duel with Ronin. So if we can stall him until that orb is gone, maybe we can win without having to bring his life points to zero."_

Slithering down on its own card, the second Solar Flare Dragon knotted itself into a ball, protecting its body from any attacks.

"I switch my Solar Flare Dragon to defense mode, and end my turn." Throwing his empty right hand forward, Reku pointed towards Freyr with an accusing finger. "And this sets both of them off, each dealing you 500 points of damage!"

Blades of flames came erupting from the two serpents mouths, raining down over Freyr's body and crashing against the floor. Smoke came billowing up over his red skinned body for a second.

Reku-3100 LP  
Akina-3200 LP  
Freyr-13950 LP

"And now it's my turn! Draw!" Akina declared, the top card of her deck being pulled off with her delicate fingers. Looking it over for a second, she quickly slid it into her left hand before bringing her attention back to the field. "And next, Jerry Bean Man will attack your Exquisite Elf – Beyla with its String Bean Sword!"

Giggling with a child-like innocence, the small yellow plant went jolting across the field, slicing the black bladed weapon around its body.

"I figured you'd try that." Freyr revealed, speaking direct to Akina. To her shock, the small bean soldier was suddenly bound up by strange chains, pulling it back against a large gray wheel wrapped in the jaw and ribcage of a demonic skeleton. "So I reveal the first of my set cards: Nightmare Wheel. Preventing your monster from doing anything as long as this card is face-up on the field."

"Fine." Akina's sad face looked from Reku back to the field before her. It was painful for her to watch her little monster bound like it was. Disappointment ran through her, unable to use the power she gave her monster. "I end my turn."

"Second mistake." Freyr smirked, waving his hand out before him and snagging the next card from his deck. "During my standby phases, my Nightmare Wheel will drain you of 500 life points as it tortures your monster."

"No way!" Akina watched as the iron wheel began to spin, pulling the monster downwards with it and back out of view behind it and lost from view because of the spinal cord. When the monster re-appeared at the top of the wheel, the fangs made out of bones on the head of the skeleton began to dig into the yellow bean's skin, sending a hideous ripping sound through the air.

Akina's eyes widened as the monster began to shriek in terror, pain clawing its way through the tiny body of the beast.

Reku-3100 LP  
Akina-2700 LP  
Freyr-13950 LP

"Stop it!" Akina yelled, watching the wheel finally reset itself in its normal position. "That's just mean!"

"_It is mean!"_ Reku observed, taking in something he hadn't considered. _"If the monsters are more real in this world that means that they feel so much more pain than we understand. Up till now we've only seen them destroyed, leaving nothing behind. But torturing one of them seems to show just how real they are."_

"Alright." Freyr held out his hand with his newly drawn card. "I will make sure that doesn't happen to your little monster again. Ok?"

"Why…" Reku interrupted, looking angrily at the demon. "Why would you help us?"

"You are mistaken." Freyr pulled back his hand and whipping out one of the cards in his hand, tossing it up high into the air. "But you'll understand soon, starting with this card."

Exploding in a rain of light that fell upon the field, the ground began to change once more, taking the form of a large river that they all were standing on. The water seemed to be solid, holding their weight, but the sight under the river was unnerving. Ghastly spirits went floating by in a jumbled mess, moaning and scratching at the surface, unable to pass through it.

"I start by playing the field magic card: Boundary – Hateful River of Souls! Then once I sacrifice my Exquisite Elf – Beyla to summon out my Sky Scourge Invicil, all will be clear." Pulling out another card, Freyr threw this one high in the air as well.

The card vanished, creating a vortex of light that fell down, swallowing the female elf in the sheet of white light. Fading, the light began to reveal the newly summoned monster. It was tall, with pale white skin tinted with a shade of purple. Its body, clad in solid, pitch black leather, was couched over, letting a pair of white wings jut out of the back. The wings though at the bottom were jagged, pointy, and had a rim of black around them like they had been burned off. (2200/1600)

"Invicil comes with two effects. They depend on what you sacrifice in order to summon it to the field." Freyr began to explain, the demonic beast cackling as it began to glow in a dark green aura. "Since Beyla was a light, fairy type monster; Invicil now has the power to negate any and all magic cards."

The river below them seemed to stop moving, its power negated with the sudden arrival of the new monster.

"Oh no…" Akina realized what Freyr meant. He was going to free her monster by killing it!

The black bladed sword that was still in the hands of the bean soldier began to fade out of sight, leaving the small warrior strapped against the wheel; helpless and disarmed. (1750/0)

"Attack; Heaven's Death Claw."

Freyr's command was cold, but stern. The beast flew over to the bound monster, pulling back its blood red claws, wasting no time digging them into the small monster. With no regret or show of any compassion, the Sky Scourge began to twist its fingers, pulling them out only once the little monster had exploded.

The large demonic torture device fading out of existence seconds after the monster had left the field.

Reku-3100 LP  
Akina-2250 LP  
Freyr-13950 LP

"But why did you negate your own card?" Reku questioned, watching Invicil make its triumphant return to Freyr's field.

"This isn't over yet." Freyr spoke, sending chills down their spine. The next pool of light on his field began to glow, spitting out two large, red, clear and clawed hands, waving wildly about the field for a second. "I activate Forceful Demon Deal. By sacrificing a fairy or fiend-type monster, this card lets me drain a monster on your side of the field of all of its abilities and a chunk of its power. Leaving it in attack mode, ready to be picked off."

Shattering, the demonic beast's particles went flying back, seeping into the hands. With a massive energy burst, the claws went jutting forward, grasping onto one of the Solar Flare Dragon's, and moving it into attack mode. The claws sunk deep into the molten rock of the beast, causing it to roar, its power slowly leaking out the holes. (1000/1000)

"_He broke my wall, but he's got no other monsters on the field to take advantage of it."_ Reku realized, his fears not being quelled though as Freyr reached for the last card in his hand, yanking it out and tossing it up into the air.

"It's still my battle phase, and I feel comfortable activating my quick-play magic card: Loyally Married Elves! With Beyla in the graveyard, her loyal husband will come from my deck to the field in order to avenge her!"

Materializing in a blast of light emanating from the orb next to Freyr, a skinny male elf appeared, his body wrapped tightly in a flowing robe of purple and blue silk, much like Beyla's dress. His face, while smooth and delicate, was stone cold, anger blazing in his dark blue eyes. Flicking his pointed ears in annoyance, the Elvin man began to lift his arms up, revealing his oddly thick hands, a magical sparkle dripping off them and falling to the flowing river beneath his bare feet. (1800/1400)

"I summon; Astonishing Elf – Byggvir in attack mode!"

Sliding back a step, Reku watched the elf come blasting forward; even though no command was issued vocally. Bounding into the air, the thin-framed man pulled off a few impressive mid-air flips before landing right before the face of Reku's bound monster.

"Destroy." Freyr finally commanded. Obeying the order, the elf thrust its arms forward, sending a rain of sparkly likes blasting from his palms and engulfing the trapped snake monster. Wriggling in pain, the monster finally shattered into small balls of data, frantically flying away from the battle scene, almost as if they were relieved death came to them.

Reku-1500 LP  
Akina-2250 LP  
Freyr-13950 LP

Reku glanced at his life points before looking back at Freyr. Something was wrong. Doing a double take, his eyes fell over his duel disk again, staring directly at the life points. "Wh…what?!"

"Guess I should have informed you." Freyr chuckled. "Boundary – Hateful River of Souls will double all battle damage we receive as long as it is on the field. But don't worry; it won't be around too long. As for now, I end my turn and you'll see what I mean."

One of the ghosts that was trapped below the surface finally broke through, shrieking with joy as it bounded around the field. Curling itself up, the ghastly figure became nothing more than a glowing orb, hovering over Freyr's head.

"During our End Phases I put an Encircle Counter on this card. Nine of them and this card goes away."

"That shouldn't take too long with the three of us." Reku threw in, lifting his duel disk up and placing his hand on the top card of his deck. With a swift motion he freed the top card, flipping it around as he shouted out: 'draw'. _"Alright!"_

Pulling the card back against his chest, Reku looked over his shoulders. Behind him, Kevin, Joe, Gurabe, Kiro, Kooru, Hebanu and Heruru all stood, watching the duel silently now.

His eyes shot past them, focusing on the armored body that lay against the wall. A small smile spread across his face as he stared at the motionless Ronin. _"Helping me out in the end, right buddy?" _

His head came swirling around, a card being yanked from his hand and being slapped down onto Reku's emerald green duel tray. "I sacrifice my Solar Flare Dragon in order to summon out my big mean green machine! Come forth: Jinzo!"

A spiraling white light came twisting up around the flaming snake, causing it to vanish into the river of energy. Coming to a peek, the hurricane of light began to shoot down the middle, forming that of a human shaped body. The metallic skin came into the focus, the glinting green armor that raced down its arms, torso and legs clinked loudly as the monster threw its hands outward, pulling it back to stretch its body out. The human head that rested atop a long, spiked neck was bald, bulging blood vessel popping outwards from the skin as the metal liquid poured through its body. Its face was hid behind a large, green mask. Two glowing red pools that served as eyes stared out at the field, focusing on Freyr's set card. (2400/1500)

"Jinzo has the power to stop all trap cards, so your set card won't save you from him." Reku explained to Freyr, who was chuckling quietly to himself.

"Doesn't matter." Freyr waved his finger accusingly at Reku. "You must not have paid attention when I said my elves were pure. Dark monsters, such as your Jinzo, can't destroy them in battle."

"It doesn't matter." Reku lifted his arm, slowly turning the card he had drawn over. "I can still show you the damage that he can cause, thanks to Ronin. Whether he admits it, or even knew he was doing it, he was giving me something because we were friends." The card flipped over to show the oddly colored magic card in Reku's grips. Glowing a scarlet red, a slight wind began to pick up around the card, spiraling into the air. "I activate: Oracles Rage Incarnate Seal of Power-Ruby Crystal"

Closing his eyes, Reku heard the overwhelming mechanical screams of his monster. The metal armor of his body cracking and shattering as long, ruby colored spikes came blasting through the exterior layer.

In his mind he saw the scene that unfolded in this room, in this spot, before this all started.

_/Flashback/_

"_Why would I duel you again?" Freyr questioned, holding up his right hand. In it, a large ball of blue flames appeared before dying down; revealing a large, stone carved medallion and a Duel Monsters card. "Last time I completely walked all over you and scored these lovely trinkets." The care he flipped over revealing it to be the Sapphire Crystal card._

"_Because last time I wasn't fighting you at my fullest." Ronin held up his right arm, revealing his deck of cards. Sliding it into his duel disk he pulled off the top card and flipped it over so that he could see its face. "And this time, I've got more at stake. Trust me; nothing will be the same as it was the last time."_

_Whipping his arm back, he launched the card he was holding over his shoulder. As it floated through the air, Reku reached up, grabbing it out of the air._

"_My Ruby Crystal?" He spoke, surprised to see it again._

"_Yes, yours." Ronin responded without even turning to face him. "I took it from you only as proof of me defeating you. I don't need it, and I have never planned on using it anyways." Taking a deep breath, he spoke loudly, his words bolded with confidence. "I will win regardless!"_

_/End Flashback/_

Opening his eyes again, Reku was greeted with a loud crack of thunder as a bolt of crimson red lightning came racing past his face. The symbol had already formed on Reku's forehead while his mind was wondering, sparks floating off of his duel disk from the slot where the magic card had been inserted.

His monster was surging with electrical energy, a blood red aura shooting up around it, being projected by the large crystals that were acting as lightning rods on the monsters skin. (3400/1500)

"_You gave this back to me because you knew I might need it should you fail, didn't you Ronin?"_ Reku smirked, a twisted smile that seemed far too cruel for him. "My Ruby Crystal powers up my Jinzo by 1000 attack points, giving him the power to attack everything on your field once."

Cupping its hands, Jinzo began to form a black and purple orb of energy. Lightning bolts wrapping themselves around it, surging from the ends of the monsters five fingers.

"And your own field card will be your downfall. Jinzo Ruby Mode, attack his Byggvir now! Cyber Energy Ruby Blast!"

Like a cannon, the ball of energy went blasting out of the monsters hands, traveling across the field within second and crashing into the unprepared elf. Smoke poured off of battlefield, rolling over the glass-like surface of the lake below, wile cracks of lightning came racing out, hitting the walls like whips and pulling off huge chunks of rock with each hit.

Reku-1500 LP  
Akina-2250 LP  
Freyr-10750 LP

Clearing, the smoke left a torn, bruised, and very angry elf standing in the middle. His once lovely cloths were now destroyed; ripped, and singed in many places.

"I end my turn." Reku spoke, his voice a dark and low rumble as he did. Another spirit came shooting out of the river below, curling into a ball and joining the first one as a counter was added to Freyr's card.

"And I go!" Akina responded to her partner, drawing the next card from her deck. Flipping it over, she revealed it to Freyr before sliding it into her duel disk. "To keep the momentum going, I activate Pot of Greed, drawing twice more!"

Snagging two more cards from the top of her deck, Akina looked over at Reku, smiling wide before continued with her move.

"I summon Sonic Duck (1700/700) in attack mode!"

A blast of light shot up as an oversized, green duck appeared on the field before her. Flowing down the monsters back was a silk scarf that was wrapped tightly around the monsters neck. A top the beasts head was a bent up gray bucket.

"And I activate my own crystal card! Go; Oracles Rage Incarnate Seal of Power-Amethyst Crystal!"

The duck began to moan, surging with a light purple aura. From under its lime green feathers, large crystal like spikes began to shoot out, sending waves of purple lightning bolts surging up and down the monsters small body.

Cracking, the bucket that was on the head of the beast fell to pieces, revealing that under it was a glowing symbol. The circular design with many lines racing through it, pulled off to the right side, giving the image of a crescent moon.

"The Amethyst Crystal makes me send monsters from my hand and field to the graveyard, powering up my Sonic Duck by the attack of the monsters." Akina explained, the symbol appearing on her own forehead as she spoke. Flipping the card over, she showed an orange boarded card with a small, orange colored rodent on it. "I discard Bubonic Vermin (900/600), giving my monster an additional 900 attack points!"

Letting out an unnatural roar, the duck threw its head back, glaring at the ceiling while the lightning that surged around its body became very intense. (2600/700)

"Attack!" Akina threw her weight forward, aiming her arm at the elf monster. "Destroy it with your Sonic Slam!"

The monster took off at a full force run, vanishing from sight completely only to be seen again a few seconds later with its head slammed into the frail body of the elf. Spirit up blood, the elf stared off into space with his wide eyes, having been punctured through the chest with one of the duck long, purple spikes. The monster lost what little color it had left, his glossed over eyes slowly closing as death wrapped him in its cold embrace.

Going limp, the Astonishing Elf – Byggvir monster slid off of the make-shift sword, his body vanishing instantly into a tornado of data bits before it even hit the ground.

Reku-1500 LP  
Akina-2250 LP  
Freyr-9150 LP

"Since my Sonic Duck is wind, your monster couldn't use its effect to save itself." Akina explained, pulling her extended arm back against her chest, her smile a twisted joy. "And now it's your move."

Howling, another spirit came bursting out from the river below them, curling into a orb and floating up next to the other three spirits.

Freyr stood there, staring at the both of them without moving, without saying anything. His face was actually emotionless, the three eyes that were plastered across his face; unblinking.

"Lost the will to go on?" Reku questioned after a while of waiting for his opponents response. "Feel free to give up."

"Not likely human." Freyr spoke, finally cracking a mischievous smile of his own. "I was just savoring the feeling I am getting. I think that this might be interesting after all."

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**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Sword of the Soul-Eater**  
Equip Magic  
You can only equip this card to a Level 3 or lower Normal Monster on your side of the field. When you activate this card, Tribute all Normal Monsters (except Tokens) on your side of the field, except the equipped monster. Increase the ATK of the equipped monster by 1000 points for each Normal Monster that you Tributed.

Akina: "This equipment card works much better than some people think. It definitely gives a power boost to normal monsters. It, though, is rather limited, being able to only be used on level three or lower monsters and tokens don't count for its attack boost. Oh well, level three monsters are usually the ones who could use a little extra oomph."

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	50. Timetable to Doomsday

Episode 50: Timetable to Doomsday

Laughter. The joy of a being, or otherwise demon in this case, was drifting slowly, steadily through the tense air. A pleasurable laugh to only one person in the room; Freyr. Only he could understand the meaning of the laughing, the twisted chuckle that he was emanating from deep inside his throat.

On the field before him stood a large android and an oversized duck, both being empowered by Reku's and Akina's crystal cards. It didn't seem like a very laughable situation for him.

Yet he was.

All he had on the field was a set card and his field magic card; Boundary – Hateful River of Souls. Nothing in his hand made the situation look even more hopeless for him.

"I think he's snapped." Reku looked over at his partner, who couldn't help but to nod in agreement.

"You fools." Freyr turned away from them, stifling his laughter the best he could. "I laugh because you've finally made this exciting. I was beginning to wonder if you could at all." Stepping forward, Freyr placed his hands onto the large crystal that stood before him. "It's going to be my job to tear you down."

"What are you talking about?" Reku growled in response, demanding an answer.

"My goals." Freyr began to move, pressing his body against the large crystal. He could feel the cold exterior against his red skin. "It's time to no long nurture the baby, but to let it take flight."

Pressing against the body of the gem, the demon began to vanish, slowly sinking into the outer shell. Eyes grew wide, unsure what they were watching at first.

It was Kooru who was the first to act, running back to where the sword still lay on the ground. Picking it up, he swung his body around in a violent twist, cutting through the air with the black blade. Steams of black and red energy came blasting off of the flight path, racing past Akina and Reku, heading towards the vanishing Freyr with intense speeds.

He was too late though.

As Freyr vanished into the side of the crystal, the beams of energy slammed into the side, bouncing off and crashing along the floor of the room.

"Dammit." Kooru cursed, pulling the sword back to his side. "I am too late."

"You know what's funny?" A twisted, gnarled voice came echoing through the room, making everyone look around in hopes of locating the source. "At one point in time Kooru, I looked up to you for your incredible speed, overwhelming power, and massive brain. That is…before all of this happened and I've become superior."

"Freyr! Stop this now!" Kooru screamed back at the bodiless voice.

"Why? Do you think that you are still in charge, able to give _me_ orders? Foolish, foolish demon spawn. You are nothing…" A strange coughing like noise followed the voices pronunciation of 'nothing'. Wheezing as if the voice was dying, it became apparent that the source was from deep inside the crystal.

A loud 'splat' sound could be heard, and what appeared to be massive amounts of blood began to course through the inside of the crystal, dying it completely crimson red.

Looking away, Akina couldn't stand the sight of it, covering her eyes with her hands and making a disgusted noise. Reku could do nothing but watch the crystal. His eyes seemed glued to it, anger and curiosity pulling at his interest.

"Better. I am but one step closer to fulfilling my goals!" The voice returned, causing the large crystal to shake violently. A glowing aura filled the area around it, sucking away all of the walls in the room. They were surrounded by darkness, absolute darkness.

"What the hell is going on?" Joe questioned, looking around.

"Look!" Kevin interrupted, pointing behind Joe, and everyone else, to a spot behind them.

Turing around, the group saw what appeared to be an opening against the darkness. Inside the large circle was a picture of the room they were just in, completely empty, and utterly a disaster sight.

"We are caught between the realms, a power that only this crystal, in an unbalanced state such as this, could do." The voice responded. Turning back around, the group saw a black aura seeping off of the top of the gem, creating a demonic outline on top of it. "There is one more thing this unstable crystal is capable of in my plan, and it'll start soon. Just you watch!" Ripping its 'arm' backwards, the black being pointed to a spot behind him.

A bolt of blue and black lightning came blasting off of the solid red crystal, smashing into an invisible barrier that lay behind him. Cracking in mid-air, the barrier shattered a bit, opening a small hole in the darkness where light seemed to peak through.

"Oh my god…" Reku looked through the hole, his eyes widened at what he saw. "That's our world! Earth!"

"Soon, when the hole is big enough." The demonic formed rotated so it appeared to be facing forward again. "I can make both human and monster alike share the same fate."

"Not if we stop you first!" Kooru growled, whipping the sword back to his side in an attempted at another attack. He stopped though when the black aura began to shake its head, laughing a bit.

"I wouldn't do that. It's a waste of your time, and mine. Just face it; your weapon won't do anything to something that doesn't have a constructed body, yes?"

"But we can stop you, can't we?" Reku inquired, holding up his duel disk. "I believe we were right in the middle _of_ stopping you."

"Oh yes, the ancient game." Freyr's new form again visibly chuckled. "That's right! It is now my turn!" Holding up its arm, the aura reproduced the glowing orb that was Freyr's deck, only this time it was gigantic. "With more energy, the more power I have formed monsters and magical powers." The beast chuckled, gazing upon his new make-shift deck size. "But still, that isn't what I want. I want this!" Reaching down suddenly, the beast's claw sunk into the top of the large, red rock, emerging a second later holding a ball of light.

The ball of light, like all other streams of light in this duel, took the form of a Duel Monsters card in the grips of the strange beast. Flipping it over, Freyr launching it forward into the darkness, causing it to explode halfway across the field.

A rain of white, acid like water came pouring over Reku's and Akina's monsters, causing them to scream out in massive amounts of pain.

"I activate the ultimate counter to your stupid tactic! Oracles Rage Incarnate - Sealing the Power!" Freyr bellowed to the heavens, cynically laughing like mad.

"What the hell is going on…" Reku watched in horror as the two monsters before him fell to their knees, the pain finally subsiding when the large spike pillars that had erupted from their skin vanished, leaving them normal.

(Jinzo 2400/1500)(Sonic Duck 1700/700)

"How did he destroy our crystal cards?" Akina asked, looking over at Reku who shrugged.

"How should I know?" He replied, looking down at his duel disk, ready to take out his card. "It's…gone…" His eyes were wide, looking at the slots on his emerald green duel disk. "Completely gone!"

"Mine too!" Akina's eyes jutted quickly to her duel disk, looking for her Amethyst Crystal.

"Because they are no longer under your control." Freyr's new form explained, pulling its bull-like head down, staring at the two humans who were facing him. Upon his forming head, six red diamonds appeared, taking the shape of his eyes. "In fact, if you all look around, you'll notice that there is not a Crystal Card to be found in this room! I've incinerated them all! I'm the one in control of this crystal!"

"That's…." Joe lifted up his duel disk, his eyes focusing on his deck of cards. "Isn't possible…is it?"

"We no longer have our crystals!" Kevin confirmed, his deck fanned open in his hands. "He really is telling the tru…"

A cold hand landed on his shoulder, cutting him off mid sentence. Heads jerking towards him with his startled scream. Gurabe was standing there, clutching his chest, massive amounts of pain rushing through his pale face.

"Gurabe, what's wrong?" Joe, coming around Kevin and giving the zombie a place to lean for a second, asked in concern.

"His collection of souls is breaking apart." Reku spoke, calmly, staring back at the undead boy. "The power of the crystal is the only thing that was keeping him alive," turning his head, he stared back up at his opponent, "wasn't it?"

"Very perceptive." The form of Freyr nodded, speaking with a slight smirk to his voice. "His souls have been yanked from his body once before, and by all technical means, shouldn't have been able to been put back. The crystal is the only thing holding him together." As he was explaining, his black, clawed arm was reaching out, sliding into the glowing orb that was floating next to him. "But enough about the dying boy. I think I should finish the effect of my Oracles Rage Incarnate – Sealing the Power. I now get to retrieve six more cards from my deck."

Pulling back, Freyr indeed had six new forms of light in his clawed clutches, fanning them open to allow them to cool off, taking the shape of large Duel Monsters cards.

"_A fresh hand…"_ Reku growled, bringing his full attention back to the duel at hand. _"That's just freaking lovely! Now what is he going to do!"_

"Now to get this rolling!" Freyr screamed out, yanking one of the cards from his shadow-like hand, and tossing it up into the darkness. Light, like from a light bulb, burst into the surrounding darkness, showering the world in its luminous glow. "I activate Everlasting Bonds of Elves!"

The raining beams of light began to condense, collecting into two delicate figures before the large crystallized opponent Reku and Akina were facing. As the darkness reset itself into the surroundings, the lights faded away to show the two Elven warriors that Freyr had played prior standing side by side, hand in hand. Twinkling in their aqua blue eyes, the essence of joy was running through the two beings bodies, connected with their fingers.

"Everlasting Bonds of Elves brings back these two divine warriors, Exquisite Elf – Beyla (1700/1300) and Astonishing Elf – Byggvir (1800/1400), both in attack mode. And with one other side effect kicking in." Freyr chuckled a bit as the two elves finally pulled their attention off of one another, staring at the opponent. "When they are on the field together, their attack power increases by 700 points each.

(Exquisite Elf – Beyla 2400/1300)(Astonishing Elf – Byggvir 2500/1400)

"And together they bring down your two beasts!" Bellowing out his order, Freyr's two monsters blast into action, still holding onto one another tightly as they raced across the field with an impressive amount of speed.

Reaching the other side, Byggvir took no time ramming his palm into the chest of the large green android, causing it instantly to be covered in cracks. Roaring in pain, he was the first to shatter into data bits, followed only seconds later by the Sonic Duck which had Beyla own palm smashed against the monsters forehead.

From their data bits, a black aura went racing downwards into the strange river where they stood dueling. Flowing through the stream, the darkness shot upwards through the barrier, surrounding Reku and Akina in a massive veil of pain.

Reku-1300 LP  
Akina-850 LP  
Freyr-9150 LP

Thuds followed as both Akina and Reku found themselves kneeling on the glass-like surface covering the river. Their arms were wrapped tightly around their bodies, shivering as if they were frozen all the way through.

"Such pain…" Akina murmured under her breath, her eyes squeezed tightly closed.

"The mere power of this dimension shows you the full force of all human pain, and the connection of monsters souls." Freyr chuckled to himself as the married elf couple returned victorious to his field. "And don't forget that double damage is dealt thanks to my field card."

As Freyr spoke of it, the spirits caught in the current of the river below their feet began to moan again, causing a fourth one to finally break the surface and join its comrades that were hovering as orbs off to the side of the large crystal. Like them, it took the shape of a sphere as it approached.

"And I end my turn, putting another counter on it."

"I…I've got to keep fighting…" Reku gritted his teeth, pushing himself back to his feet. "I draw…" Reku pulled the top card free of his deck just before…

"Reveal my trap!" Freyr's form screamed out. The only swirling vortex of light that was on the field still began to react, erupting into a geyser of dark colored water. "The card that I received when my Bank of the Wailing River was destroyed was this card; Woeful River Waters! By discarding a card," one of the cards Freyr still held caught on fire, burning it to nothing but ash, "I get to add one normal magic or trap from my deck to my hand."

Shooting from the orb next to him, another card raced through the air, forming in his clutches.

"I know exactly what I need. You may continue."

"Gee…thanks." Reku growled knowing full to well that Freyr had a plan in place. Looking at the card, his hopes dropped even more. "I summon Battle Footballer (1000/2100) in defense mode."

An android-like monster appeared, decorated in metallic football padding. Obscuring its head was a flame orange football helmet with two glowing, red orbs glaring out from inside it.

"And I set this face-down." Reku slid a card into his duel disk, watching it appear behind his monster. "Ending my turn."

The fifth spirit popped out of the river, taking an orb-like form.

Her feet spread wide; Akina tried her best to brace herself from falling over. Taking a quick second to look over at Reku she smiled a bit, reassuring him. "I'm fine." Bringing her attention back, she slid the top card from her deck. "Draw!"

She looked at the card for a good, solid couple of seconds before sliding it into her duel disk, looking up as the card hologram appeared before her.

"I activate the magic card; Monster Reincarnation. By discarding this card." Akina slid the last card she was holding into her graveyard, grabbing another one the popped out. "I can add one monster from my graveyard back to my hand. And I'm going to set it face-down to end my move."

The sixth spirit formed itself into an orb, floating next to the other five.

"Then you've just walked into defeat." Freyr lifted his shadowy left arm high, the five cards spread wide between his claw-like fingers being joined second later by a sixth as it raced into his grasp. "As my lovely Beyla will destroy your defending wall." The claw like finger found its target, taking aim at the crouching machine football player.

Nodding with the order, the female elf monster cupped her hands, having to release that of her lovely husbands. Bounding high into the air, she shot a stream of magical energies into the air before her, creating a stream of magical energy that was coursing down towards the Battle Footballer.

"Not if I activate my Mirror Force!" Reku bellowed out, slashing his arm across his body, causing his set card to flip up. From it, a massive glass like barrier shot out, wrapping itself around the crouching monster. "This card will destroy all attack position monsters on your side of the field, while sparing mine from your brutal attack."

"You desire to destroy my elves?" Freyr chuckled, despite the horrific sight of the magical blast hitting the barrier, shooting back at the two elves in the form of jagged, yellow rips of energy.

Falling down, Beyla hugged onto Byggvir, taking sanctuary inside his arms, awaiting their immanent doom.

"From my hand, fast magic," Freyr hurled out one of the cards he held, watching it instantly vanish into ribbons of light. Wrapping themselves around the two elves, the lights vanished into long wooden strands, with large, singing leaves. Flowers budded along the vines, filling the area with a strange scent, the likes of which no one had smelled before. "Protection of Alfheim. This magic prevents the destruction of all monsters on my field with elf in their name."

"No…" Reku growled, watching his counter attack fall harmlessly against the large wooden vines, barricading the two beings inside.

Falling off, the vines sank deep into the river below, vanishing behind the millions of dead souls that were floating down stream. From behind where the vines were once standing, Byggvir stood with an angry expression plaguing his delicate face. His arm was held up, palm facing outwards with Belya wrapped tightly against his chest with his other arm.

"Byggvir, attack!" Freyr's orders came swiftly, causing the male elf to blast out his own beam of magical energy.

Reku had to shield himself as the magical ray engulfed his machine, causing it to explode right in front of his face, sending him flying backwards off his feet onto the invisible floor over the river.

"You may have prevented your destruction this turn, but soon enough." Freyr freed one of the cards in his hand, tossing it up. "I finish my turn by setting once again." The card burst into energy, falling into a swirling vortex behind the cuddling elves.

As Reku collected himself, standing up again and brushing off his butt, the seventh spirit took shape as an orb, floating next to the others.

Reku placed his hand on the top card of his deck, preparing himself to free it and add it to his hand. In the moment of the silence, he could hear Gurabe suffering behind him, his breathing incredibly loud and staggered.

"_He can't do it."_ Kooru tightened his claw around the hilt of the sword as he watched Reku frozen in place, staring off into the blank space before him. _"He's trying to run every card in his deck through his mind, pulling out every combo he knows to try and stop him. That or he's praying like hell he draws something he needs. I should have never let it get this far. Freyr can't be stopped this way and I knew it. I knew it all along…"_

* * *

Chime bounded off the last solid step, the three below it being cracked and destroyed by the violent tremors that had ripped through the castle before. Landing hard, her legs gave out from under and she found herself sitting on the torn ground. 

"Ouch!" She rubbed her leg, trying to push out the shockwave from it

Moving through the castle had been incredibly difficult, most of the floor been torn apart by aforementioned earthquakes.

But she had made it at last. Pushing herself back to her feet, she pulled a couple strands of her green hair out of her face, staring down the final hallway to the open door leading to the room where the crystal was housed.

"I can make a difference…I hope." She held up her left arm, the green duel disk resting on it. Slowly, it felt with her limp arm back to her side, her head moving back to face the door at the end of the hall. With a push, she started off towards the door with a large stride, only to find herself being restrained by a firm hand that was clenching her shoulder suddenly.

"What the…" She had to ask as he head looked back over her shoulder to see who was there.

The hand let go, pulling back once she saw a figure standing there in a pitch-black robe. With the hand, he pulled the hood back, revealing a head with sandy blond hair and deep, blank brown eyes.

"It's you…umm…" She stood there, tracing her thoughts as best she could for the man's name.

"Call me Deruku." He spoke, staring at her. "And there isn't much time left. I finally have accomplished what I needed to do. As they are now, Reku and Akina can't beat Freyr."

"They are fighting him?" She arched her eyebrow, staring at him. "Right now?"

"Dueling him in the ancient game. And they will lose."

"You've been there? What are you doing back here then?" She continued to look confused at him.

"I have not been in the room yet. But I saw it while ripping and then bracing the time stream. The future came to me on this time line. I saw their defeat." He confirmed, slowly placing her hand on her back and pushing her so she was facing the door. "But to fix it, I'm going to need your help. I'm glad I caught you."

"Wait…huh?" She was a bit confused as the strange man began to push on her, ushering her towards the door, rather at the moment against her will.

"You've got the only source of power strong enough to resist Freyr in this state. He's destroyed all the miniscule powers drawing from the crystal itself. Yours being much different."

* * *

"I draw." Reku slowly pulled the top card off of his deck, flipping it over and looking at its face before sliding it into his duel disk. Afterwards, he pulled a card from his hand and placed it down on his duel tray. "I set one card and play Robotic Knight (1600/1800) in face-up defense mode." 

Both cards appeared on Reku's field. The monster jutting out of the horizontally turned card was another android, this one dressed like a general in an army. A saber held across its body to act as a shield, while its other arm was crossed behind it, a Gatling gun sitting where its hand should have been.

"I end." He looked over, watching Akina slowly lift her duel disk, preparing to take her turn. Simultaneously, the eighth spirit shot out of the river, curling into an orb.

"Just one more." Freyr chuckled, stopping Akina short of drawing.

"One more what?" She had to question, staring up at the demonic aura beast she was dueling.

"When my Boundary – Hateful River of Souls has nine counters on it, it destroys itself. As I mentioned before. But what I didn't say was what will happen then. At that time, all cards that have been removed from play will be placed back in the owners cemetery, as well as dealing everyone 1000 points of damage."

Akina's head show down, her eyes focusing on the Life Point gauge on her duel disk. The huge white numbers against the black background read 850, making a new fear race down her spine. _"At the end of my turn, I'm going to lose…"_

"Akina…" Reku tightened his fist as he murmured under his breath, watching Akina suffer next to him. "…this can't be the end…" He looked down at the single card he was holding. It wasn't going to be any use, and his set card couldn't save her from being burned to death by the card effect. _"At the time he played the card, we never inquired what all it did. We figured we had the game won with our crystal cards…"_

"It is your turn…take it and feel the pain!" Freyr chuckled, his shadow-made body frilling up as a surge of energy raced through it. Even Dementia, who had watched silently from beside the crystal, fell back as this surge of hyper energy raced through the main structure of the crystal.

Surges of electrical energy came blasting off, hitting the walls of the realm behind the crystal. More holes began to form from where the lightning would strike. Like paper caught on fire, the whole started to burn at the edges of the dimension, burning them open.

"The time will come so soon. You don't want to waste it in your frozen state of fear, now do you?" Freyr chuckled again, the surge of energy calming down as the small, newly formed holes behind him began to grow. Small beams of dirty light came racing in from the holes, illuminating the darkness around them.

"I…draw." Akina slid the top card off of her deck, her eyes falling down to meet its face once she turned it over.

A small smile pulled at her lips, he hand palming the card as she reached out, flipping over the card she had on the field.

"I flip summon up my Bubonic Vermin, the monster I sent to the grave earlier!" Flipping over in mid air, the card vanished, leaving a small, pink haired rodent sitting on Akina's field. Its nose seemed to be going a million miles a minute, sniffing the air out of pure curiosity. (900/600) "When a Bubonic Vermin is flipped, I get to place another one from my deck face-down on my field."

Her deck was pulled from its slot, fanned open. With her free left hand, she slowly pushed her finger across the tops of the cards she had, finally resting on one she pulled out. It appeared next to the small rat in the form of a set card, lights piercing the darkness as it materialized.

"And now," Akina slid her deck back into her duel disk, un-palming the card she had drawn that turn, sliding it into her duel disk. "I activate the effect of my Mystik Wok; sacrificing my Bubonic Vermin to gain its attack points in life points!"

Below the small rodent, a large, black skillet appeared. Sliding down into it, the Bubonic Vermin squealed at the sheer heat of the cooking device. Flying out the other side, the monster flailed its legs comically as it tried to swim through the air, failing and falling back down into the wok before it vanished in a up-rush of light.

Reku-1300 LP  
Akina-1750 LP  
Freyr-9150 LP

"And I finish my turn." Akina declared proudly, knowing she'd at least survive this oncoming effect.

The river began to shake below them in an unfelt tremor, shattering and leaving them all suspended in the darkness. Shooting past them, free and happy to be so, millions upon millions of moan, cold, and lifeless spirits racing into the dark sky above passed through their bodies, and Freyr's crystalline state.

Reku-300 LP  
Akina-750 LP  
Freyr-8150 LP

"So the end is coming." Freyr held up his right hand, catching the comet that burst from the sphere next to him, holding it tightly while it cooled off into a card. Adding it to his right hand, the shadowy figure began to laugh manically. "The countdown can finally commence. I can give you a time frame now, in which, if you don't win, I do."

"How can you do that?" Reku questioned with anger, appalled by the sudden declaration of the beast.

"Because I have all I need." Freyr's clawed hand yanked a card out, throwing it out to his side, but keeping his clutches tight around it. A dastardly smirk was on the shadowy face, still laughing at his own amusement. "I trigger the end with this key; Apocalyptic Countdown Commence!"

Violently, the world began to shake. Lightning came out of nowhere, slicing the air into electrified stands. The once pitch-black background now was swirling with a mixture of colors, all tinted to their darkest shades.

The streams of color, as well as the lightning began to collect together within the swirling vortex that Freyr had on his side of the field. The air became thin as it to was being sucked into the vortex. It was becoming harder and harder to breath.

Reku-300 LP  
Akina-750 LP  
Freyr-4150 LP

"To use this card, a huge chunk of my life has to be sacrificed!" Freyr bellowed out over all the noise. As he finished, the roaring stopped, causing his voice to drop as well to a more, but still louder than normal, tone. "To be exact; 4000 points. But,"

The swirling light vanished, being replaced by a large clock made of pure energy. In the middle of the clock, a large, human skull sat, ghostly white and blue flames were burning in its eye sockets. Out of a flaming pillar, two large, boney arms appeared, both pointing upwards on the clock to where the 12 would sit.

"It is the only way that I can activate my set card: Apocalyptic Clock! The pure essence of destruction. Holiest way to fulfill destiny and bring about the end of the world. Bring it to its doomsday, and send mankind spiraling down into their utter, total, and humiliating defeat.

"You see, Apocalyptic Clock puts one Apocalyptic Minute Counter on it during each players' End Phase. During my End Phase, I can remove it, dealing damage to both players equal to the number of counters on it times 2000."

"You'll…wipe us all out." Akina protested, a bit shocked yet to hear the effect of the card. "Why would you want to use such a card? You'd lose as well!"

"Like that matters to me." Freyr chuckled, his arm motioning down towards the crystal the shadow body was projecting from. "If you haven't already noticed, my body has been shredded, the blood in my veins coursing through this crystal. All I need is to spread my inner pain across both worlds, using this crystal as the prism to magnify it to an unbearable size.

"The Apocalyptic Clock will self-destruct, causing this entire realm to shatter, and provide a massive wave of pain outwards, most likely destroying this crystal as well. But not before it is amplified, and thrown out over the new world of chaos. Humans and monsters alike will finally understand what pain they inflict on others!"

"He's insane!" Reku gasped, realizing the magnitude of the situation.

"No more so than most of you humans." Freyr chuckled, another card being yanked from his hand. "And as it is only too fitting, I think I'll usher in the new world with the fallen angels who guide and govern the darkness and the light." Flipping the card over, it vanished in a burst of light, swallowing everyone whole for a second. "I activate," Freyr voice came through the whiteness, echoing millions of times throughout the world. "Tenmashin Soul Hell!"

Subsiding, everyone blinked, rubbing their eyes for a second. The field had changed, drastically. The two lovely elves that once dotted Freyr's field were gone, replaced by the repugnant, repulsing looking Sky Scourges, laughing madly deep in their throats.

"Tenmashin Soul Hell removes all cards on my field and in my hand, putting them in the graveyard. Then I remove four light, fairy type monsters and four dark, fiend type monsters from play to special summon to my field, all three of the Sky Scourges!"

(Sky Scourge Enrise 2400/1500)  
(Sky Scrouge Norleras 2400/1500)  
(Sky Scourge Invicil 2200/1600)

"Another important note." Freyr's arm motioned to the field below, aimed directly at the clock that was still sitting before him in the air. "Apocalyptic Clock can't be destroyed, not by you, and as you can see, not by me either."

"It's come this far…" A voice behind the all made them turn, looking back towards the tear in space, the opening to the monster realm. Walking through the hole, Deruku, followed closely behind by Chime, moved swiftly up to the group of humans, the dying zombie, and the demon group.

"It has indeed you fool!" Freyr interrupted, slashing his own arm across his chest. "I activate the effect of a card sent to my graveyard via the effect of my Tenmashin Soul Hell! Judgmental Rapture requires itself to be removed from play when I have my three Sky Scourges on the field."

A holy light began to shine down on the three grotesque creatures, causing all of them to laugh manically into the darkness. A black and white aura began to flow through all of them, slowly spreading outwards, engulfing the entire field. Reku's and Akina's cards began to warp as if they had become wet and were being put under unspeakable pressure.

"Judgmental Rapture will then destroy all cards on your side of the field as the mere cost of my battle phase this turn." Freyr explained just in time. The cards and Reku's Robotic Knight imploded into themselves, shattering inwards into their own mini black-holes. "Nothing…nothing at all is left. My ultimate, divine judgment shall befall you all!"

"You're nuts! You aren't any sort of god in any right, and you most certainly haven't won this yet!" Deruku, for the first time that anyone had known him, rose his voice with anger.

"How dare you speak to my Lord Freyr like that! He is far superior to you as of now!" Dementia cut in, slashing her arm across her own body.

A chuckle stopped her, causing her to look almost hurt as the insulting implication. The laugh was mocking, echoing in the Swiss cheese dimension. It was Gurabe, his hand still clutching his chest as massive beads of sweat were rolling down his pale brow, falling to the darkness below. His teeth were grinded together, but a cold smirk was pulling up his lips.

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" He questioned, his eyes locked on Dementia. "He doesn't care about you. When he says that everyone will suffer, he means you as well!"

His voice began to break, his eyes were fogging over, but a twisted chuckle still managed to escape his throat.

"No…" Dementia stepped back, her arms tenderly crossing in front of her body, her eyes darting downward. "Its…not…true…" Her head snapped up, her eyes focusing upon the shadowy figure only to see a sight of horror. It was nodding, looking directly at her. "I've served you loyally…I've never strayed…why Master Freyr? Why?!"

"It's a matter of who gets caught in the crossfire." The figure spoke, calmer now than he was moments ago, his shadowy head coming forward again. "But already being non-human, you most surly understand the pain."

"Feel pain…" Her eyes were growing wide, almost in anger. "For being born the way I was…"

Tightening his fist, Reku couldn't help but feel the wave of pity rush through his body. He felt incredibly sad for her.

Moving his head slightly to his side, he stared over at Akina who had her own arms crossed over her chest, looking at Dementia as she pleaded helplessly with her master who was betraying her.

Holding back a sigh at seeing Akina's own pain, Reku's eyes flicked back over his shoulder, looking at the group behind him. Turning a bit, his eyes focused on Ronin's lifeless body, now laying in a pile on the invisible floor, having been dragged into this in-between dimension. "Sometimes we just can't help what we are born as. What we are born to be and what we will become."

He was mumbling, but loud enough that the immediate group around him could hear each word clearly.

Turning back to face his opponent, Reku held up his duel disk, a fire burning in his eyes.

"You have no clue how many lives you wreck on this selfish quest for revenge! You've twisted and manipulated the fate of many, destroying the lives of others yet. I can't stand around and let you do it." His brow began to narrow as his speech of justice turned slightly angrier. "Freyr, you cold hearted bastard! I won't let you mess up one little thing I've got. Your damn plan won't get in my way of spending my life with this woman I love! Your morals are worth shit, and it shows just how messed up that damn brain inside your head is!"

"Is that so?" Freyr's form stood proudly, Reku's insults bouncing off of him as if they were nothing more than flies. "What a fool. Take what is your last turn then…prove to me that you won't let me stop you. Your own greedy motives. Your 'ideal' world that you believe is better than anything anyone else may want or wish for."

The clock's strange hands began to move, slowly moving over a space equal to about a minute. The skull in the center began to cackle in a dark, warped fashioned, pleased as it gained its first stage of power.

"What I speak of is what I want…yes…" Reku nodded, lifting his hand and placing it on the top card of his deck. "But each being has a right to wish for the best. And if I am in a position to stop someone from not only ruining my happiness; but the happiness of the beings in two worlds, I'm going to do my damndest!"

"But it won't work!" Reku fumbled a bit, stepping forward, scared of the loud voice roaring up behind him. Flipping around, Akina and him saw Deruku standing behind them, his arms held out towards them with his palms facing up. "As it sits right now, you aren't going to draw anything that can help you. This duel is lost, you lose."

"How…how do you know that?" Akina looked at him quizzically.

"I have been busy, ripping open a space in the flow of time. In that hole, I gained a glimpse at what this outcome would be. You fail…on this timeline anyways." He watched them both now look at him like he was nuts. A small grin appeared on his face, a bit amused. "I opened that space for another reason. Using my soul as the energy needed, I can propel you along this timeline to find your heart. It is the only thing that is able to stop Freyr."

"You're going to what?" Reku, Akina and Freyr, all at the same time, asked the question.

"Who said I was going to let them go anywhere?" Freyr snapped back, over the two confused humans. "I am inches away from my goals. I won't let you interrupt all I've planned for. And frankly, if you stop this way, I have many others. I just like the…" The shadowy figure seemed to look upwards, his clawed hand scratching his chin while he was in deep though. Trying to pick out the perfect word. "…originality of this way."

"Fine then." Deruku looked up at him. "Kooru, Heruru, Hebanu, Kiro. Distract him!"

"Right!" Kooru nodded, jumping instantly into the hole he was offered. Swinging his weapon around his body, a large blade of energy shot out, smashing into, and through, the shadowy being, causing its form to distort and blast outwards slightly.

Bounding past them all with his inhuman speed, the four demons jumped into battle against the stunned opponent, none of them really sure what they were planning to do against the large aura being.

Landing on the top of the crystal, the four of them found themselves being instantly thrown backward off of it by a sudden blast of energy. Flipping backwards, the four of them landed gracefully on the dark floor, finding themselves face to face with Freyr's three white and black demonic angels. Cackling, the three of them took off, attacking the demons with full force.

"We don't have much time. Luckily…hopefully…you'll be back in a blink of an eye." Deruku reassured Reku and Akina, who were both glaring over their shoulders at the battle scene unfolding. Turning back, they saw the robbed figure glowing in a minted golden light with white runes racing through his body.

"Do whatever you need to do." Reku reassured Deruku, reaching over and grasping Akina's hand within his own. "We'll do whatever we need to do to stop this madman."

"Once this is done…I shall be gone." Deruku spoke as he was closing his eyes. "My life force is what is needed to push this forward. But the gap should be open until you return I believe, since the flow of time should only be couple of seconds on our end. Just be safe on your side." Snapping his eyes open, his body became enveloped in a bright golden light, blinding both Akina and Reku for a few seconds. "It is time!"

The light was incredibly strong, but neither Reku nor Akina could move. Not even close their eyes to shut out the light. The numbness had swept through their body as easily as if they were made of liquid.

An incredible force pushed at their bodies from all sides, almost as if they were falling from a greatly elevated height in every single conceivable direction.

Then their bodies reacted, and their eyelids fell shut.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**CARD OF THE EPISODE**

**Apocalyptic Clock**  
Cont. Trap  
This card cannot be activated from your Hand, Deck or Graveyard. This card can only be activated when it is set on your side of the field and by the effect of "Apocalyptic Countdown Commence". This cards activation and effect cannot be negated. This card cannot be destroyed except by its own effect. During each player's End Phase, place 1 "Apocalyptic Minute Counter" on this card. Destroy this card during your End Phase when it has at least 2 Apocalyptic Minute Counters on it to deal 2000 points of damage to both players Life Points x the number of Apocalyptic Minute Counters this card has on it.

"..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


	51. Zero Hour

Episode 51: Zero Hour

* * *

**The future…**

"The inexplicable disturbance came from this sector." A course, rough voice came bellowing through the air. An authoritative tone rang about his voice.

"There appears to be civilian casualties." A second voice came into the air, this one a bit less rough than its partner's voice.

Both voices were distinctly male, and both holding a sense of command in their words.

Reku's consciousness slowly drifted back to him with the intrusion of these two new voices. His mind stretched out, feeling through his entire body. The numbness that had washed over him previously had finally dissipated, leaving his body fully under his control once more.

Twitching his fingers, he felt the familiar grasp of another hand inside of his. Akina's hand. Smiling a bit, he forced the energy needed to pull his head up, opening his eyes to look around.

What he saw was a rather shocking sight. Where they were was a torn up mess, scattered with large chunks of debris everywhere. Around them on both sides were large stone buildings, both having seen better days.

Battle zone. The only words that came to Reku's mind to describe the scene he saw.

Two men also joined in his vision. The men obviously belonging to the voices he had heard earlier. They were dressed in deep navy blue uniforms, though they were tattered and ripped in several places. Around their waists they wore a large belt with many things attached onto it. They were cops.

"Are you two alright?" The man owning the second voice asked, noticing Reku's head off of the ground and his eyes open. They were both moving briskly towards Reku and Akina, both lying face down in the rubble.

The man who spoke was shorter and a bit skinnier of the two, with fiery red hair spiked out in every direction, like a complete mess.

His partner wasn't much taller, but broader in the shoulders. His hair was coal black, also in complete disarray. Scars traced their way down the man's dirty face.

When they were closer, Reku could see that both men, despite being 'on top' of the situation in their voices, both held eyes that looked as if they were going to burst out crying.

"Are you okay?" The second man asked again after not receiving an answer from Reku.

"Um…" Looking over he saw Akina next to him, also awake. Her eyes were full of both confusion and a bit of awe. Turning back, he nodded. "Yeah, we are fine."

As Reku and Akina began to pull themselves to their feet; the two cops stopped, a wave of terror flooding over their already pale faces. Stepping back slightly, they both un-holstered their guns from their waists, taking instant aim at Reku and Akina.

"Drop your weapons!" The first cop yelled out, his voice incredibly more forceful and mean. "I said drop them!"

"Weapons?" Akina questioned, now clinging onto Reku's arm with the guns being drawn on them. "What weapons?"

"I have no clue." Reku briefly looked over at her before bringing his attention back to the cops who were still backing away somewhat slowly. Taking a deep breath, he called back to them. "We don't mean any harm. We are unarmed."

"No your not!" The smaller cop cried out, slashing his arm through the air. "Do you think I was born yesterday?!"

"What is he talking about?" Akina questioned again, slowly pulling back, causing Reku to also take a step backwards. This movement made the cops jerk their arms straight, standing their ground.

"Do not move!" The smaller cop screamed, his arms already beginning to shake from the tension put on them from being so straight.

The broader cop pulled his left arm back, grabbing a hold of his radio microphone that was strapped to his left shoulder. Pulling it closer to his mouth, he pushed the button and began speaking into it. "We've got a situation here. Two individuals, early 20's, one male and one female. Black and sandy blond hair respectively. Male slightly larger. Both individuals are armed, both in possession of some strange custom model of duel disk. Both activated. Requesting backup."

"They think that our…" Akina looked at Reku as they both realized what the cops meant.

"Duel disks are weapons." Looking down at his left arm, he raised it slightly to stare at the emerald green model he had hooked there. The Life Point screen was still on by the gentle glow coming form it, but the numbers where his life points were was just blurry. His left hand was also empty, somehow the single card he had in his hand had just vanished.

"Suspects might be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Their responses are limited and disoriented sounding." The cop spoke into the radio again. Not once did either of them take their eyes off of Reku or Akina, their guns still aimed directly at them. "They fail to comply with our orders."

"Who would listen to you?" A gruff voice questioned, causing both of the cops to flip around, fearing an attack from behind. Their bodies were visibly shaking as they frantically searched the scene for the source of the voice.

Reku watched as a blur of black seemed to appear on the new backsides of the cops. Solidifying, Reku could see that it was apparently a man draped in some sort of cloak. The material waved out from behind him as the figure had come to a sudden stop.

Lifting both of its arms up, it proceeded to club the two uniformed official's right in the back of the skulls, dropping them both to the rubble covered earth below.

"Annoying humans." The figure spun around on its heals, looking at Reku and Akina. From under the hood, they saw a face that they actually did recognize. Or vaguely anyways.

"Kiro…is that you?" Reku asked, slowly taking a step towards the new person.

"Yes it is Reku." He spoke, slowly lifting his right hand out to the side. His metallic black hand came into view as the robe he wore was pulled slightly back. He began to curl his finger, as if he was motioning for someone to come closer to him. "It's alright, come on out."

"Kaira?!" Akina exclaimed, watching as a figure came bounding over the side of the building that lay towards the right of them, slowly floating down to the area below. Turning, she smiled at the two of them, revealing a set of razor sharp fangs beneath. Her skin was much purpler now; here eyes slotted golden sphere set against a black backdrop. She was also covered in a tattered cloak to hide her appearance.

"Hello Akina. It's been far to long…" She cut her self off, covering her mouth as she realized she had made a mistake. Quickly moving to correct the error she blurted out; "on our end!"

"So then…" Reku looked around for the first time since he had stood up. The sky was overcast with strange, green tinted clouds. The suns rays that could actually pierce through the cover was dyed a poisonous purple. They were standing in what appeared to be an abandoned lot where it looked like a building had been demolished. The two structures on either side of them were also filled with cracks, broken windows, and holes where chunks of the walls were missing.

The street that lay behind Kiro and Kaira was empty, not a car or person to be seen. Buildings that were on the other side looked ghastly similar to the ones they stood between; abandoned, broken shells of themselves, on the verge of maybe collapsing. Many of them were boarded shut with 'Do Not Enter' signs pasted across their faces.

"Deruku really sent us to the future." Reku finally finished his sentence, bringing his eyes back to the two un-human forms before him.

"To a future, yes." Kiro walked forward at human speed, moving closer to Reku and Akina. Kaira was close in toe behind. "A future that was created because of your damn arrogant pride!" Kiro's demeanor began to shift, his jewel like eyes starting to flood with anger.

"Wait, wait!" Kaira grabbed onto Kiro's arm, dragging him to a stop. "Remember, they are from before the Toxic Days began. You can't blame this Reku. Apparently he made the other choice!"

"You are right." Kiro took a deep breath, subsiding his anger for the moment. Pulling his arm out of Kaira's grasp, he began to speak to Reku and Akina again. "Deruku apparently sent you to the future in which you chose to 'keep fighting' ignoring Deruku's speech. This is the world that has been created because you two lost to Freyr in the final turns. He detonated his Atomic Clock, sending his infectious feelings into the heart of man, woman, child, monster and demon alike.

"I know you, the you from this time, have regretted that mistake horribly." Turning, Kiro began to walk away from them. Without a word or a second glance back, Kaira turned and followed. With his right hand, he waved it over his shoulder, motioning for them to follow. "So much so that you pretty much sold your soul to prepare for this day. The day that the past him arrived here."

"So you guys knew we were coming?" Akina asked as her and Reku followed behind the two demonic beings.

"Your arrival made enough noise to alert people on the damn moon. But yes, we knew you were coming. Eventually. One day." Rounding the corner, the four of them slowly made their way down the torn sidewalk. In many places, it vanished completely, leaving nothing but a dirt patch.

"It's what Deruku told us would happen." Kaira spoke without looking back at them, elaborating on what Kiro was trying to say. "That he would have sent you to a future in which you actually failed, because, that is the only future on the path you are walking on. And thus, he figured that once you fail, that we could work on an answer, in which, when the you from that fork in the road showed up, we could give you the final weapon needed." Changing her subject, she reached out, slightly hitting Kiro on the arm. Though he showed not reaction that he even acknowledge the 'attack'. "You should really actually explain things to them better. Remember the five year gap in their memory."

"Whatever." Kiro growled.

Sighing with the response, Kaira slowed her pace down until she was walking next to Reku and Akina, both of them watching her with unwavering attention filled eyes.

"After the Day of Infection, he's been rather much more cold than usual. I know it seems hard to see, remembering the Kiro that he once was. He may appear the same but there are drastic changes that you could see if you spent more time with him."

"Is that what they are calling the event that we failed to stop?" Reku had to ask the question he knew was on Akina's mind as well. "The Day of Infection?"

Nodding, Kaira shifted her gaze up towards the overcast skies. "The time you lost is just as the new dawn had broken. A day that no one thought was going to be any different than any other. The Day of Infection. It led directly into what the mass public calls the Toxic Days. Both named because of the poison like feelings that were inserted into everyone and everything's hearts. Like a raging infection. It also doesn't help that since then, the suns rays that break the cloud barrier are poisonous in appearance."

"What Freyr apparently forgot to mention or did know about himself; which is most likely the case seeing how stupid the ass was, was that his feelings would also infect anything that was living. Animals, plants, even the Earth itself. This planet is dying at a much greater rate than it was already." Kiro spoke; his turn to clear up what his partner was talking about.

"That's so sad." Akina cranked her head around, gazing upon the infectious looking green clouds.

"Not but a couple of weeks after the Day of Infection, the masses finally got their wish and those held responsible were officially declared the top wanted criminals in the world." Sighing as she spoke, Kaira's head fell back down to looking at the ground. Bringing it up slightly, she saw Reku's eyes fixated on her, waiting for her to finish her tale. "Their twisted sense of justice made anyone involved a full fledge criminal. You two, us, everyone who was there.

"Likewise, because of the events that led up to the Day of Infection, it was deemed that any duelist, period, was to be held responsible. Dueling is not only a crime punishable by death now, but it's also an activity that strikes fear into anyone and everyone. Anyone seen even with a card or a duel disk is labeled as 'trying to become the next Freyr'."

"That'd explain why those cops were going to shoot us into Swiss cheese just for having our duel disks on." Reku, finally grasping the earlier situation fully, lifted his duel disk and stared down at it, feeling the full impact of the implications of such a simple device in this time period. Something so common to his everyday life.

Nodding to support that Reku's assumption was correct, Kaira continued on; "Every known duelist is hunted down, many of the executed on the spot. So many of them have changed their names, going into hiding. Others can do nothing else but keep running. That is all that we can do."

"It's a shitty way to live your life." Kiro growled, cracking his knuckles with the flexing of his fingers. "And there isn't even anyone I could bash the face of in to end all of this. It's damn frustrating."

"I can imagine." Reku agreed, slowing his pace so he wasn't within striking distance of the demon before him, even though he knew it honestly wouldn't do any good if Kiro actually wished to attack. "So…where are we going exactly?" He quickly changed the subject.

"Right there." Kaira pointed to a building that was at the end of the block they were on. Looking back over their shoulder, they could see they had made some good ground while they were walking. A couple of blocks worth anyways.

The building looked like an old movie theater. It was a good three stories tall, made out of red brick. Like all the other buildings around, this one was crumbling, falling apart as it stood there. The entrance way that would lead in towards the door had even fallen in on itself.

Without stopping, Kiro preceded to climb onto the pile of rubble, vanishing into a small opening that appeared closer to the backside. With Kaira's lead, Reku and Akina also climbed over the debris, sliding through the hole and landing on the floor on the inside of the building.

It was dark and smelled of rotting wood. Light pierced through the gloomy room in thin, dirty plate-like beams as it seeped through the small gaps in the pieces of wood that were nailed up against the windows. Echoing off the blackened walls was the hard sound of dripping water somewhere further down the hall. A mouse blazed a trail across the floor before them. Obviously also affected as well as it frantically jerked back and forth, incapable of running in a straight line.

"Seems a little movie-like, hiding out in an abandoned building." Reku commented as he folded his arms across his chest.

"It is just the most logical." Kiro growled, walking forward slightly and stopping again. Raising his right foot, he slammed it down against the floor. A loud echoing noise shot below their feet, making Reku and Akina instantly realize it was hollow below them.

"It's never hard to tell it is you Kiro." A voice spoke, startling Reku and Akina. A hatch on the floor just in front of where Kiro stood flew open, a small man stood there in the hole, gazing up at the demon.

His brown hair was a mess, and his face was rather dirty. He looked like he hadn't had a shower or a fresh change of cloths in at least a month.

Moving his eyes, they fell upon Reku and Akina, who were silently staring at the young boy. "Oh, brought more refugees did you? By all means, bring um all in."

Sliding his head back in, the boy vanished from sight. Obviously moving out of the way as Kiro effortlessly walked forward, falling down the hole in the floor.

"Go on." Kaira urged, pushing the two humans forward. Nodding, the two of them looked down to see that it was a good ways down. There was a later set up against the side that the two of them flipped around and climbed down.

They walked for just a short distance after that, all of them in silence. The tunnel was lit with small lights dug into the rock walls. As they moved under the abandoned theater, they eventually came to a large, dug out underground cave.

It was filled with all the duelists that were trying to hide from the corrupt system the world had fallen into. They were spread out across the room, many of them just talking. They all looked rough and dirty; their bodies torn up by the hard times.

Many of them instantly looked up as they entered the room, terror filling their faces. Murmurs could be heard instantly, filling the air with all the gossip.

Reku instantly knew why. Looking around, he saw everyone eying the still active duel disk on his arm.

His attention was suddenly grasped away from the people as a loud gasp filled his ears. Jerking forward, along with Akina, the two of them stared at the source of the noise.

Directly across the room from where they stood, a man rose from his place on a rock. His long, scraggly black hair waved out to the side as his body came to a stop in a full upright position. Around his face was a large beard, the likes of which was very unkempt. His cloths were torn and ripped, his body appearing to be just as worn as everyone else's in the small chamber.

"A…Akina…" He spoke, slowly taking a couple of steps forward. "Is…that really…you?"

She nodded, a bit confused. She couldn't quite make out who the man was, partly because he was so far away still. His speed picked up though allowing him to move quickly across the room.

"Oh, that's right." Kiro sweat dropped a bit watching the human come across the room. "You spiraled into a bad depression when Akina died."

"I did what?" Reku jerked around to stare at Kiro, his eyes wide as he was taking in the sudden new info.

"So that guy is…" Akina realized just too late as she was swept up into a large hug by the future version of Reku.

"I've missed you so much." He exclaimed loudly, keeping a firm grasp around the young woman. His expression rivaled that of a young boy finding his long lost dog. "It is so good to see your beautiful face again."

"Um…" The younger Reku was unsure what to say, but he knew he probably should stop himself from hugging Akina to death. "Excuse me…"

"Oh, right." Future Reku smiled stupidly as he released the girl, taking a few steps back. "I guess I overacted. It has just felt like forever since you…left me." His expression dropped a bit as he spoke.

"I…died?" Akina looked over to her side, directing the question towards the two inhuman companions that were next to them.

"Yeah, sadly." Kaira nodded. "Many have."

"So that's what you meant by 'it's been a while'." Reku, remembering what Kaira had said when they first met.

"Indeed. But if it makes you feel any better," reaching out, she put her hand on the younger Reku's shoulder, trying to consol him on the strange, but grim none-the-less news, "she didn't die through human execution. The multiplied pains that come from the reflected anger, hate and greed drove her insane to the point her body just gave out on her. It is happening too many; the human race is quickly going extinct. Either by killing each other off in fits of grief and anger, or by killing themselves off."

"But you can fix it, can't you?!" The future Reku spun on his heels as he was yelling, taking off in a mad dash across the chamber.

"Um, Reku?" Akina reached over, tugging on his shirt a bit to get him to lean closer to her. "Please never grow a beard. Please."

"Not a problem." Reku smiled stupidly a bit at the request. "I also promise to bathe more than that. And actually change my cloths."

"Thank you." She smiled, hugging his arm.

"Before that, you actually have to beat Freyr." Kiro interrupted the conversation, standing there quietly while the older version of Reku came racing back across the chamber, a small, locked, wooden chest in his hand.

Setting the box down on the floor, he also took a key he was holding and slid it into the scratched golden lock that was securing the contents of the box. "After the loss, we analyzed the situation, and what we could have done to fix it. What we needed to have that we didn't. That last draw is nothing that can prevent your loss; I know this for a fact."

Reku and Akina both looked down at their duel disks with the knowledge that this Reku was right.

"Shortly afterwards we tracked down Pegasus, and he produced these." Reku was explaining when the lock clicked open. Feeding the curved golden bar through the loops on the chest, Reku dropped it to the dirt floor. Swinging the top of the case open, he yanked out the contents. Holding them up, everyone in the room shrank back from them. They were two Duel Monsters cards. "The keys to the survival of humankind. You must use these in order to save us all."

Reaching out, Akina and Reku each grabbed one of the cards, reading them before looking back up at the future version of Reku. He was slowly righting himself, smiling wide. The once grim and dirty looking face was replaced by that of a happy man.

"Don't let the Day of Infection come." Kaira declared, stepping in front of the two of them.

"If you win, Freyr's plan fails. That is how those two cards will work." Kiro threw in as he stepped over behind Kaira, not directly looking at the two humans. "Don't screw it up."

"We won't." Reku and Akina both shot back, their declaration echoing off of the walls of the chamber. Looking around, they saw all eyes focused on them.

"We won't let any of you down." Akina reassured them, slowly sliding the card face-down on top of her deck.

"And I won't let this world happen." Reku reassured not only himself, but his future version of himself. "I won't let a world where so many suffer happen. I won't let a world where I lose the one most important to me happen."

"I put my faith in you." The future Reku smiled, watching his younger self slide the card on the top of his deck. Once it clicked into place, the two of them seemed to be engulfed in a surge of light.

* * *

**Present Day…**

Kooru, Heruru, Hebanu and Kiro went flying back with a dome of light surrounding Freyr. Their bodies slamming limply into the 'wall' of the darkness they bounced off, falling face-down onto the darkened 'floor' of the dimension.

Just behind where the bodies of the four demons fell limp, the lifeless body of Ronin that was piled up on the floor stirred. Shaking a bit, he slowly opened his eyes, staring out into the blackness that had surrounded him. _"What the hell…"_

His body was completely numb, yet he could still feel in incredibly strong, vibrating pain that shot through each of his limbs.

What he saw though was the large crystal, glowing brightly with a demonic aura floating out from its top side. The last thing he even remembered was watching his Daedalus getting killed by Freyr's Khaos monster. His memory was incredibly fuzzy after that.

Filling with light, the area was blinded for a couple of seconds, only to dim in record time, leaving Reku and Akina standing in their spots on the dueling field. Both of them staring off towards their large, demonic opponent.

"There back!" Joe cried out, pleased to see the return of his friends in one piece, even though they were only gone a couple of seconds on his end.

"And ready to take out this abomination." Reku reassured his companion without looking over his shoulder.

"_Back? Where…"_ Ronin's body was still to inoperable to move, but from his point on the ground, he could stair directly at Reku's and Akina's backs. _"Where did they go? Are they…dueling that monstrosity?" _

His question never found an answer, as his mind blurred and he passed out again.

"The last hope we have." Kooru, was pushing himself to his feet, bracing against the sword. "As long as Freyr's body remains in that crystal, we can't beat him."

"Then let's take this guy out, shall we?" Reku smirked, looking over at Akina who nodded in agreement. "As I recall, you had just ended your turn, and it was about time for ours to begin." Lifting up his duel disk, he placed his fingers delicately on the top card of his deck, slowly sliding it off. Flipping it over, he smirked at the draw, looking up towards Freyr as he moved it towards his emerald green duel disk. "I set this card face-down and finish my turn."

"That is how you are going to beat me?" The aura beast stared on as the card materialized inches before Reku's feet. Throwing his head back, Freyr enjoyed a good, long laugh. "That is pathetic! No card you set can help you! And by ending your turn you've only hurt yourself further!"

The demonic hand on the floating clock moved another notch over, indicating that it had gained its next counter. The skull in the middle copied its master, laughing manically into the darkness, mocking its opponents.

"Another Apocalyptic Minute Counter goes upon my card, bringing the damage its going to deal up to 4000!" Freyr bellowed out into the darkness. "I will win this!" With the decoration, Freyr's three anti-angel monsters roared up into the 'sky'.

"Wouldn't count all of your eggs before they hatch, Freyr." Akina boldly declared, a confidence burning in her eyes as she held up her duel disk, placing her own fingers on the top card. "It is my turn now. Draw!" Jerking the top card free, Akina's eyes fell on it before looking over at Reku, who gave a swift nod. "And now it is time. I activate the magic card; Everlasting Bonds of Hearts!"

Sliding the card gently into her duel disk, the emerald green device began to react, flowing with an immense amount of energy as it read the data off of the card. The hologram appeared before her in a raining light.

"The power between us is what is going to defeat you Freyr." Reku chuckled a bit, lifting his duel disk up to his chest, resting his right hand wrist against the metal binding that clasp around his left wrist. "The ties in our own hearts will overcome the agony and despair you wish to inflict on the world. Chain set card; my own: Everlasting Bonds of Hearts!"

His finger fell forward, pressing one of the buttons on the back side of the duel disk, causing the card he set on the last turn to flip up. The identical cards began to glow their radiant light that cut through the darkness.

"Your what?!" The eye's on the aura beast were wide, yet his arms were thrown up over his face to shield himself from the massive amount of light that was being produced.

"Our way to defeat you!" Reku and Akina cried out together, slashing their arms in opposite directions as the two magic cards before them blasted out beams of light that engulfed the three demonic monsters still standing before Freyr.

"These cards are going to turn your own monsters attack scores against you." Reku declared, pointing at the three Sky Scourges. "Your fallen angels will be the downfall of you."

"Everlasting Bonds of Hearts adds together the attack score of all monsters on the field," Akina continued from where Reku left off. The two of them working in completely perfect sync. "Leaving us with an astounding 7000 total."

Slashing their arms through the air, their index fingers became locked onto the aura beast that was hovering out of the crystal.

"And deal that damage to your life points!" They both shouted simultaneously.

Freyr's body of shadows shook, horror shooting through this state of being, realizing what the cards were going to do.

In an eruption of light that the cards produced; the darkness seemed to vanish in the radiant glow. Streams of white lights shot from the card images, crashing harmlessly into the fronts of the three Sky Scourges, seeming to collect inside their bodies. When the energy was ripe enough, three balls of light came blasting out of the monsters backs, slamming into the large body of the crystal all at once.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Freyr's screams rang out of the aura monsters mouth, aimed directly up into the dark abyss that surrounded them all. The ensuing light swept up, causing the monsters aura to dissipate, whisping away from the large, red, gem below, also being bathed in the crisp white light.

Reku-300 LP  
Akina-750 LP  
Freyr-0 LP

"We win Freyr." Reku boldly stepped forward. With a pump of his left arm to emphasize his point, he smirked with their victory. "You and your twisted plan have come to a complete halt."

"Working together," Akina stepped over next to Reku, allowing him to put his arm around her shoulder, "we put an end to your sick ideal world."

The light seemed to be vanishing, slowly seeping into the walls of the blood coated crystal. Darkness slowly fell back over everybody. The calm was only disturbed by the painful groans of Gurabe, who was still suffering.

Everyone looked on. No one was completely sure as to what they were supposed to say.

The crystal was the first to break into the moment. It began to rattle, creating a strange buzzing noise. Visibly on the outside of the crystal, sparks of black lightning began to trace their way down the sides, surging into the 'floor' of the darkness. It continued, growing more and more violent.

"Stand back!" Chime cried out, racing forward, snapping her left arm up in front of her chest. On it, her forest green duel disk activated, sliding out its duel tray. "Deruku informed me that this would happen."

"What?" Joe cried out from behind her. "Why didn't someone mention that before?"

"There was no time." She yelled back over her shoulder, sliding her deck into the duel disk. "He just knew to wait for me to arrive to inform me of what I needed to do."

_/Flashback/_

_"Wait…huh?" She was a bit confused as the strange man began to push on her, ushering her towards the door, rather at the moment against her will._

"_You've got the only source of power strong enough to resist Freyr in this state. He's destroyed all the miniscule powers drawing from the crystal itself. Yours being much different."_

_"What are you trying to tell me?" Chime questioned, still being shoved towards the door._

_"When he is defeated, the demon blood in the crystal is going to become unstable. It's already unstable, that is what is causing the worlds to be ripped open like it is." At this point Chime could actually see what he was talking about. Through the door, the room was completely empty, but a large rip in space sat at the far end, and she could see the entire gang inside, the duel raging on. "But without his continuous link, it'll become explosive. Since the Orichalcos Stone came from the crystal, it is theoretically on a close level. With the power of the crystal out of flux, it'll most likely be too divided to be able to overpower your Seal of Orichalcos. You must use that to create a loop in itself, sucking the power out until there is nothing left. It is mankind's only hope."_

_"Okay…" Chime sweat dropped a bit, not fully grasping the technical aspect of what Deruku was explaining. "Whatever you say." _

_/End Flashback/_

Yanking the top card off of her deck Chime slid it instantly into her duel disk's field magic card slot. "I have the power to stop it! I activate the Seal of Orichalcos!"

Appearing against the darkness of the 'floor' of the abyss, the green circle materialized beneath the base of the crystal. The six pointed star began to trace its way around the ruin marked ring, sending a pillar of green light shooting up along the sides of the crystal.

All this seemed to do was create a massive power surge in the crystal. The lightning became horridly more violent, but the bolts of electricity couldn't penetrate the outer wall the Orichalcos was creating.

"It's trying to break out!" Joe realized, watching the crystal surge with all of its might, but failing against boundary.

A flash of light ended the scene. A charred crystal stood alone in the darkness, its white skin seeable behind the burned rock. Smoke slowly rolled off of its, drifting out into the abyss. The seal had vanished when the crystal had run out of power, causing Chime to fall to her knees, her body suddenly weakened.

Panting hard, she smiled a bit, knowing that she had accomplished something good. She had finally found her meaning. She finally could say she understood why Reku, Ronin and Akina had stood up to her and her lackeys those five long years ago. Most importantly; she felt like she had found a meaning to her life. Why she had been betrayed by her father, why she had found Dartz, the power of the Orichalcos, and why she met the group of people, and demons, standing behind her.

Her life had brought her to this point.

Her eyes were suddenly jerked to her duel disk when it began to hum. The field magic slot flipped open, but to her shock, it was completely empty. The Seal of Orichalcos had just suddenly vanished, leaving nothing left.

"Is…" Kevin began, slowly walking forward, leaving Joe standing alone holding a still suffering Gurabe. "Is…it over?"

"As far as Freyr is concerned." Akina responded as she looked back at the boy.

"And as far as the crystal is concerned as well." Reku observed the large crystal, watching as its charred body suddenly collapsed, crumbling into a pile of rubble.

He felt it, and he knew Akina did too. It was warm. Illuminating their faces was the suns rays, slowly seeping through the large holes in the dimension. Morning had finally arrived. The world hadn't been infected by Freyr.

"I told you that the sun would rise today." Reku began, bringing his head over to look at Akina. "The first day of the rest of my life. A life that I get to spend with you."

"You humans…" Gurabe chuckled, though his words were strained, and obviously very painful. "Got your happy ending after all…" As the final words came out of his mouth, his body went completely limp, the final souls clinging him to life seeming to escape finally.

"Gurabe…" Joe spoke softly, knowing that this was the end of the line for the man. The strange, but an ally none-the-less, man's road came to an end right here. Slowly sliding him out of his arms, Joe left him on the 'floor' of the abyss.

"It won't be a happy ending if I don't seal up this pocket between dimensions." Kooru growled, slowly walking forward, holding up the black bladed sword he was holding. "And I think I finally also understand why this was here. I thought it was going to be the only thing that could stop Freyr, but its energy is all we've got left. With it, I can seal off this cross-dimension. If we don't, it'll continue to rip and eventually destroy both sides."

"Then let's get this over with." Reku encouraged as he smiled at the gray haired demon. "We'll leave the rest up to you."

"_Did those idiots really forget about me?!"_ Dementia stomped her foot against the darkness, a bit annoyed at being ignored. Already feeling abandoned, this was just making her angry.

Turning, she slowly floated through the air until she flew through the hole against the darkness, emerging on the other side and staring down at the human world.

A deep sigh escaped her purple lips as she slowly descended. The morning rays of light seemed to just pound on her. Her class of vampire was much higher than normal, leaving her strong enough to resist the suns rays that typically threatened all vampires. That is why Freyr chose her. Her power. Her strength.

"Was that a lie?"

She pondered to herself as she slowly drifted down into a dark alley, landing on the ground.

Slowly walking down the concrete ground, she moved aimlessly into the morning.

* * *

In the main chamber of the castle, there was much talk going on. The light from the rising sun in the Dominion of the Beast came racing through the large wall, the lasting scar to remind them of what had happened. 

The demons were getting bandaged up, having severe wounds from their rough battle against Freyr.

"There we go." Kaira smiled, accidentally showing her fangs while she ran her hand over a bandage that ran up Kiro's right arm. Feeling the end of her tooth rub against her bottom lip, she was instantly reminded of her situation. Her mouth shot shut trying to conceal it.

"Kaira." Kiro began, not looking at her but rather down at the floor. With his left arm, he reached up and placed his hand on the bandage that Kaira had just put on his opposite arm. "It'll take a bit of getting use to. You're not used to your body's new changes yet. You'll discover a few new things as time goes on."

"Kiro…" She tried to speak but Kiro cut her off.

"Don't worry. I will hunt down that damn vampire and get you back to normal. I swear it."

"Isn't that sweet?" Akina spoke to Reku, the two of them sitting in the large golden chair, both of them watching the scene between Kiro and Kaira. "Would you do that for me?"

"Of course I would." Reku responded, pulling her tightly to him. "I'd do anything for you."

Before anything else could be said by him, he noticed that Ronin, who they had laid out on the long table, was starting to stir. Lifting his head up, he looked around. The look plastered on his face showed that he was in immense pain, and a bit confused as to where he was.

"Looks like someone is awake." Reku commented, motioning with his head towards Ronin. At the rather friendly comment, Ronin groaned and let his head fall back against the table.

On the other end of the room, Joe, Kevin, Ryokurio, Usami, Sachiko, Chao and Chime all stood by the large opening, staring out at the beautiful day that was coming.

"I…" Joe started speaking this time, turning towards Chime, but refusing to look her in the eye. "I was wrong about you. You really helped us out down there. If it wasn't for you being here…"

"I know." Chime smiled, knowing that getting gratitude, much less a peaceful conversation towards her from Joe, was rare. "I have to thank you all again. For the second time you've all helped me. The first time I was stopped from doing a terrible thing, and then this time I was guided to see a purpose for my being."

"It's kind of funny how we all just kind of came together in the end." Ryokurio responded, looking back at the group in the entire room. "If you think back to when this all began, and how we've formed this. Meeting each other and the things that have dragged us all back together time and time again."

"I know what you mean." Sachiko couldn't help but agree. "It doesn't seem possible that it was just five years ago that Reku, Ronin and Akina formed Team Zero and won the World Tournament. So many things have happened."

"Team Zero," Kevin couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the name, "the 'thing' that really is the core of why most of us are here. At some point in time or another, we came in contact with those three…"

Looking over at Sachiko, he quickly corrected himself; "those four." Pretending to clear his throat, trying to hide his little mistake, he continued afterwards. "At some point in time or another. Joe and I came one day to just challenge them again, to test their strength, and we got wrangled up into all of this with the Crystal. That was even the first time we met come to think of it." Changing the subject, he looked over at Joe who just nodded.

"Yup, and if I recall right, had a grand duel with one another. Which ended in a draw…"

Joe's hesitation after realizing he had an unsettled score made the small group laugh.

The laughter was interrupted as something new was happening. The door to the large room swung open, allowing for Kooru, Order, and a rather confused looking young man to walk in. Looking around, the man's eyes fell upon Kiro and Kaira, both sitting on the floor staring at him.

"Oh…" Kaira's slotted eyes grew wide, realizing something different about the man. He was normal again. No longer possessed. "Deruku!" She screamed, jumping off of the floor and wrapping the boy in her arms.

"It's been so long since I've even thought about it." Kiro spoke, looking from the scene back down to the floor with a slight chuckle.

"About what?" Reku asked from his place in the chair with Akina still on his lap. "What's going on?"

"Deruku is Kaira's brother. He was possessed by a 10,000 year old…" Stopping for a second, Kiro looked up while the gears turned in his head. "…tournament organizer…"

"A lot of things have changed." Deruku spoke, pulling back from his 'new' sister. "I really can't recall much. I don't even know where I am. Or who you people are." After looking past the vampire to all of the other people, he brought his eyes back onto the woman before him. "Except you, and you…are…different."

Deruku wasn't sure if he was supposed to be scared of her or happy to see her. She was still his sister after all.

"Things have indeed changed." Order agreed, walking ahead of the small group she found herself in, moving to the center of the room. "Good job everyone. You all faced a threat a thousand times more powerful than you all and you never backed down, once."

"But what will happen now that the Crystal is gone?" The question burning at everyone's mind came rolling out of Akina's lips finally.

"Nothing." Order looked at her, a smile pulled across her face. "Nothing can happen. It can no longer threaten anyone ever again." Looking over all of the faces, even Ronin's who had picked his head off of the table to listen. "You all can go back to life the way you knew it. Life as it was five years ago before this all started."

"Nope." Joe cut in, causing Order to focus on him with a rather confused look. "For once Order, you are wrong."

His head shifted a bit to look at the green haired woman that was standing next to him before bringing his attention back to her. Balling his right hand into a fist as he spoke, confidence flowed through his words.

"We can never go back to the way things were. We've all been through so much, and I can say for a dead set fact that none of us are ever going to forget what we've gone through. We've all changed. Some just growing stronger, some of use finding our place, others coming to find the things in life worth fighting for."

"It has been quite a run." Kevin agreed with his friend.

"Here, Here!" Chao shouted his agreement from behind Joe as well.

"Maybe then you are right." Order spoke, getting a simultaneous nod from everyone in the room but Ronin. "There was no abnormality to your life. This was what was normal for you. Everything you've gone through has been part of your destiny."

**THE END**


	52. Epilogue

**Epilogue **

"I now pronounce you man and wife." The man standing behind the loving couple declared followed shortly after by a lot of clapping as the family members in the room stood up, welcoming the newly weds as they engaged in the typical wedding kiss.

Reku couldn't be any happier. His body trembled inside his black samurai-style male kimono as his mind finally registered what was going on. It had been a whirlwind to him to this point, when the entire world seemed to slow to a crawl.

Akina was delicately wrapped in a very expensive black silk kimono adorned with pictures of many colored flowers running all over it. Her long sandy blond hair was stylized in a traditional Japanese way, pulled up and decorated with traditional ornaments and accessories.

She was gorgeous.

And he didn't look anything less than handsome himself.

Finally breaking, the two of them smiled at one another, lost in each others eyes. They both could smell the fresh, spring time air wafting through the church's open windows; a time of blooming and flourishing for many things in the world. The time that these two had chose to blossom into a full couple together, ready to take on the world together.

* * *

Walking from an alley way, Kiro was dressed completely in a black hoodie to hide his demonic appearance. Pulled down low over his brow, it even shadowed off his eyes from outwards gazes, just leaving his grayish colored skin exposed; hard to distinguish against the shadows already there. 

Ripping his arm through the air, he smashed his gloved hand into the brick wall on the side of the alley, instantly sending cracks racing through the face of the stones.

"No sign of her yet, huh?" Kaira's voice asked from under the hood of her own hoodiee, also pulled over her body and head to conceal her appearance from the world. She was leaning back against a motorcycle, her arms crossed as she waited patiently for Kiro to respond. When he didn't, she continued. "It's alright. We'll get her sooner or later."

"It'd rather it be sooner." Kiro finally spoke, slowly pulling his arm back from the wall. "How I'd love to sink my claws into her neck and strangle her."

"I know you would." Kaira unfolded her arms, letting them flop unrestrained to her sides as she pushed herself off of the bike with her butt and stood straight up. "But you don't need to over work yourself for little ol' me."

Growling, Kiro walked past her and whipped his leg over the bike as he mounted it. Lifting his head, he looked off towards the western sky, seeing that the sun was sinking lower towards the horizon.

"We've got to go." He finally said. "We've got a party to attend and we've got to make a pit stop before then." Nodding in agreement, Kaira got onto the motorbike behind him, situating herself so that she was comfortable. Sighing, he lowered his head, staring at the road before the bike's front tire. "You know you don't have to follow me around, don't you? Our lives apparently are already short in these torn states of in-humanity. Wouldn't you be happier being in some sort of luxurious home rather than going on some vampire hunt?"

"I would probably be more cozy, yes." Wrapping her arms around Kiro's torso, she prepared to hang on for the ride. Resting her head against his back, she closed her yellow slotted eyes, smiling a bit. "But not happier."

Without any further reply, Kiro lifted his head, staring off down the street. As he started the motorcycle, a smile crept across his face, feeling the body pressed against his back.

* * *

A rapid knocking on a large wooden door made Chime shift her head upwards, staring at it as if to see who was there. Since the door was shut, her vision was blocked. "Come in." She ordered, allowing whoever it was to turn the knob and walk in. 

A mid-height man strode into the room, looking around with a paranoid glance to see if there was anyone else in the room before brining his eyes down onto the green haired woman, now resting in a large recliner.

Smiling a bit, the man pushed his oval shaped glasses up his nose before taking his hand on a quick run through his neatly combed over brown hair.

"It's been a while, hasn't it Chime."

"I'm not coming back to the Underground Circuit. End of story Tatashi."

Her former manager chuckled a bit at her stern statement. Pushing the door closed behind him gently he looked at her with a large and friendly smile. "You really assume that the only reason I would come to see you is to beg you to come back to the circuit?"

"It wouldn't be the first time you've tried to bribe me to come back." Chime responded, crossing her legs and arms almost simultaneously, showing she had no fear of the man. A slight smile even cracked on her lips.

Sighing, Tatashi's head fell a bit, realizing that she was too smart to fall for any stupid friendship trick. "Come on! Mashima doesn't even reel in half as much money a duel as you did at your peak, which happened to be your end too." He begged withholding the 'actually being on his knees' part.

"I think the lady said 'no'." A new voice entered the room as the wooden door, which wasn't latched, just pushed closed, swung open enough for another person to enter the room.

"Good timing Chao." Chime smirked, seeing her 'hero' of the moment walk into the room.

"She seems to much prefer it here in the Pro Leagues. It's not only legal, but from what I hear; more beneficial to her overall health."

Growling at him, Tatashi turned back towards Chime before swiveling on the balls of his heels and slithering out of the room.

"And you might want to consider leaving this fine lady alone from now on, you hear!" Chao yelled after him, doing the stereotypical good guy act.

Laughing a bit, Chime uncrossed her legs and stood up, watching as Chao became more relaxed, realizing there wasn't going to be any sort of physical fight.

Or so he thought.

"You do realize that is my sister you were talking about…" A gruff voice whispered into Chao's ear, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up instantly, his eyes growing wide with fear. Taking a ragged breath, he tried to calm himself a bit, finally grasping the situation.

"You've really got to stop doing that Kiro." He spoke, taking a step forward and flipping around to see the demon standing behind him, knowing full well he hadn't been there a couple of seconds before.

Chime was chuckling a bit at the whole situation, coming across the room before embracing Kiro in a tight hug.

"It is good to know you haven't changed much Kiro." She said as she got her hug from him before backing off.

"It's all a matter of keeping him in line." Kaira, who was also suddenly standing in the doorway, spoke, adding into the joke. "Sometimes it's not easy to keep an eye on him, but it sure makes life interesting."

"I bet it does." Chao nodded, smiling a bit with his own pleasure. "It's good to see you guys again." He threw in, staring at his old friends.

"It sure has been a while." Kaira agreed, looking over at Kiro before bringing her head back and changing the subject rather quickly. "But I'm sure we don't have time to sit and reminisce right now. I believe our presence is required elsewhere."

* * *

"Thank you. Please have a nice day." Joe smiled as he handed a bag across a clear glass counter to the awaiting customer. Standing back, he watched as they exited the store, the door swinging closed behind them. 

With no one else around him, Joe let out a sigh of relief, quickly brushing his palm over his store uniform. Stepping around the counter, he walked towards the glass door and flipped the Open sign over to display 'Closed' to the public.

Turning, he looked back over the large floor of the room he was standing in. Four tables ran in rows of two along the sides of the room. Smack dab in the middle of the floor was a large square box marked an area for a dueling ring.

He had taken a job working at a place called Crossroads Card Shop. It wasn't an undersized or run down store by any means, but certainly wasn't the biggest card shop in town. It held its own fairly well in the competitive market. Many preferred it because it had wonderful prices and a nice atmosphere emanating off of the employees. Mostly because the employee's all were duelists, able to relate to the public they were serving.

Joe smiled as he walked back across the floor. He liked his job here, as it revolved around something he loved.

But today Joe didn't have a problem with closing up early. His boss had said it'd be fine for this occasion.

He stopped when he heard the bell sound through the store indicating that someone had entered the store. Turning around he was prepared to give the speech about them being closed.

The words were stopped before they even got into his mouth. A smirk creased his face as he watched his blond haired friend step into the store and gently shove the door shut behind him. Taking a breath, Kevin looked up at Joe and gave a big, dorky grin. "Hey dude!"

"Yo Kev." Joe turned and went back to what he was doing, heading for the back room of the store. "You all set for today?"

"Of course." Kevin followed Joe as far as the counter and leaned over it, resting his head in the V created by his hands. Wriggling his body a bit he felt a backpack he was wearing sliding about on his back as a reminder that it was still there. "And yourself?"

Laughing a bit from behind the door that lead into the back room of the store, Joe reemerged just as he finished pulling on a light jacket over his work uniform. "I've always been ready. You should know that about me by now."

* * *

Sachiko strode out of her bedroom at Usami's house, smiling a bit as she came into the room. She wasn't dressed up to a formal level, but she was dressed nicer than any other average day. 

"You look stunning." Commented Usami from her place on her couch.

"Thanks." Sachiko replied, taking a quick look down her body to make sure everything was straight.

The two of them were still living together, becoming more of roommates rather than just Sachiko being a guest in her house. The arrangement seemed to work out rather well for the time being.

A loud ring from the door bell interrupted the two women. Both of them cranked their heads around to stare at the large wooden door that sat at the entrance to the house. They watched it crack open slightly and Ryokurio poke his head in, smiling when he saw his sister and Sachiko.

"I assume it's safe to enter?" He asked, watching the two of them nod. "Good." Pushing the door open he strode into the room leaving the door wide open behind him. "So you two ladies ready to move out?"

"All set here." Usami spoke for both of them as she pulled herself up off the couch.

* * *

Ronin stood in the corner of the large golden room in Order's castle. Tapping his foot against the ground, the clanking of the armored boot he wore echoed off of the walls. 

Sighing a bit, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall, staring at the completely empty room.

"_Oh come on people."_ He growled in his head just as the door to the room swung open. Order proceeded to walk in. _"About freaking time!"_ Pushing himself up from the position he was just in, he took a couple of steps towards Order.

"I've been informed that it's time to start. Order declared, turning away from Ronin and closing her eyes. Within seconds, multiple huge bubbles of light began to grow in the vast area before her, bursting instantly to reveal a massive crowed of people. The group had been reunited. Everyone was standing in the room now, all of them looking rather happy to see the golden castle again.

"It has been a while." Order spoke first, welcoming them all with her sweet, serene voice. "It brings me great pleasure to see you all here, and all really happy."

"We spent a lot of time here in the past years during some rather odd situations." Joe was the one to respond first.

"But nothing could ruin this day." Reku wrapped his arm around his new wife, looking into her eyes for a couple more seconds before looking back at the group that was around them.

"Ah yes, congratulations." Order acknowledged the newly weds, followed by a almost unison 'congratulations' from everyone else in the room sans Ronin, who chimed in rather late, and with less than pleased tone in his voice.

"Yeah, congrats." His eyes were focused on the floor as he spoke it, drawing them back up to the couple only to see Akina trying to stifle a laugh. "What is the matter with you?"

"Still trying to act tough?" She questioned, causing him to blush slightly. Quickly at the end of her sentence she threw in; "Mr. Bodyguard."

"Someone has to keep this world safe." Ronin snapped back, his embarrassment showing full force. "And frankly, the monsters here see my power and begged me to not even leave for today."

"But he must still care about us, as he actually did accept our invitation and show up." Reku smirked at him, causing Ronin to narrow his eyes.

"Did you think I'd miss this?" Ronin lifted his left arm, revealing his emerald green duel disk. "A chance to prove to you all who here really has all the power."

"You'll be knocked down a few pegs once you end up in last place." Reku's trash talk had the humorous undertone to let everyone know he was still rather joking about it. From his side he revealed a rather large duffle bag. Pulling open the lid, he pulled out two emerald green duel disks of his own, handing one to Akina.

"Well I'm glad that you guys liked the idea." Kevin smiled, sliding the backpack off of his back and pulling out his own duel disk. "I figured that since dueling brought us together, and got us through so much, that a honorary tournament between just us would be appropriate on a day as special as this. It's perfect to unwind after all that planning for your wedding," he was looking at Reku and Akina as he spoke. Turning a bit, he slowly looked around the group, "and after work and the hassles of everyday life. And it'll be the perfect landmark for this one year anniversary!"

Out of nowhere, everyone else held up their duel disks, smirks upon their faces as they were all ready to get this under way.

"May nothing like Freyr or anyone else ever threaten either world." Joe's duel disk was activating as his speech was taking place. "Or we'll just have to come and knock them down again."

"Than shall we do this." Reku asked, moving forward in the group, the duel disk on his arm sliding into position as he spoke. Tugging a bit at his kimono, he emulated confidence and smugness very well.

"DUEL!"

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**Words from the authror: **Welcome everyone who is reading this, as it means you have finally completed my Team Zero: The Last Guard fic. Likewise, the progressive series. I'm really only saying things here because I need to give credit. Though those who have helped me know who you are.

Then, I'd like to thank all of you who have read. And even more thanks to those who decided to actually give me feedback by posting a review. Sometimes that was all I needed to get the energy needed to keep going on with this.

Now, if you've all noticed anything, have questions that you'd like answered, or any other things about my story, don't hesitate to hope over to my forum and ask away. I'll be glad to answer anything.

Anyways, big shout out to you guys who are reading this. Thanks again! You all have a nice day!

Rex  
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